


STAR WARS: A Search for Justice

by Ketz



Series: Light and Darkness [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Blood and Violence, But also lots of war, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Jedi Magnus, Lots of stars, M/M, Malec Smut, Minor Character Death, Psychological Torture, Stormtrooper Alec, Welcome to the resistance, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-09-28 07:59:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 58,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10080404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketz/pseuds/Ketz
Summary: After the MORTAL WAR that wiped out the JEDI ORDER and the reconstruction of THE CLAVE to govern the galaxy, military force, THE CIRCLE, has been monitoring planets for any trace of remaining intergalactic terrorism and obliterating possible threats under the name of peace. Each strike leaves death and destruction behind.Former Senator, General Luke Garroway, leads the DOWNWORLDER RESISTANCE, a counterpoint to the Circle, in hope of finding enough evidence of abuse of power to dismantle the organisation and restore real peace and justice to the galaxy.In order to do so, Luke has sent Izzy Lightwood, his most daring pilot, and the mysterious Magnus Bane to search for survivors of the last attack…





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys <3
> 
> Is anyone out there a star wars fan as well?  
> Because if the answer is yes, then you just might be in for a treat.

“There’s nothing left,” Isabelle exclaimed in frustration, kicking an unloaded blaster away. She looked around, trained eyes ignoring the death and destruction surrounding them in search for any movement. Any survivors. Anything at all. There had to be a soul left in Wrangel.

Magnus sighed, a resigned and defeated sound. “There’s no one left, my darling,” he said, not unkindly. 

Isabelle gritted her teeth, but eventually nodded. It wasn’t the first time they were much too late to find any survivors from an attack of the Circle and it always took a toll on her the hardest. Magnus attributed that to her gentle heart. Isabelle said it was because of her sense of justice.

Regardless, the wasteland they stood on was a sore sight to anyone. Tall buildings had been reduced to ashes and the fire had destroyed what once must have been a beautiful garden in the center of the village. On the ground, bodies laid unmoving. Most of them had been defenseless citizens, but every now and then, Magnus saw someone with a gun. For every one of them, there were a few stormtroopers fallen. Magnus felt hollow as he saw the white uniforms stained with dirt and blood.

It was not the sign of a terrorist base as the Circle undoubtedly would claim it to be. Those were innocent people who were slaughter in their own home. Those were stolen children, raised and trained to fight for the greed of a despicable man.

“Izzy,” Magnus whispered, dreading the realization that just occurred to him. “Do you see any children?”

The thin line on Isabelle’s lips was enough of an answer. Everywhere the Circle raid in search of terrorists, children disappeared only for the army of stormtroopers to increase size. 

The Clave might have shut their eyes for this coincidence, but General Luke Garroway certainly hadn’t. He created the Downworlder Resistance at the same time Valentine Morgenstern founded the Circle, two opposing forces in the galaxy, both reminiscent of the Mortal War. 

A direct conflict was too risky, so the Resistance had to work with what they had. If they could only find a way to prove the Circle’s crimes, then the Clave would have no choice but to dismantle it. 

But it seemed that Valentine was always one step forward. Magnus had lost count of how many times they thought they had him trapped, but the man always managed to evade justice. How many times his lies were taken as the truth and how many lives were lost in consequence.

And it seemed this time wouldn’t be an exception. Isabelle and Magnus had been sent to find survivors, but there were none. They were sent to find evidence of an unfair attack, but nothing in the destruction was different from the sight of war. Knowing if had been a massacre was not the same thing as proving it.

Once again, they were going back empty handed and with their hearts heavier.

Magnus swallowed hard, feeling the bitter taste of frustration in his mouth. “We should get going, darling. This reconnaissance mission was a failure. With some luck, we ca-”

Isabelle interrupted him with a sharp movement of her hand as the other one touched the blaster pistol on her thigh holster. Her necklace had begun pulsing, something that only happened around users of the Force.

And there was only one user that could be on the planet with them.

“Run!” Magnus shouted, but as they tried, both Isabelle and him found themselves stuck, their bodies being compressed in place. Magnus barely had time to concentrate before he saw white shadows surrounding them from all sides.

“They are with the Resistance, sir,” one of the stormtroopers said.

“Yes, I can see that,” a dreadful voice answered, though Magnus couldn’t see its owner. He didn’t have too, though. Shadowhunter Sebastian Morgenstern was infamous for being the last force user in the galaxy, but even more so for his ruthlessness. “Take them inside. I want to know why the Resistance bothered to send them here.”

And just like that, hands were all over Magnus, shoving Isabelle and him inside a transport vessel alongside Isabelle.

“Sir,” another stormtrooper called from afar. “We found more children hiding, but they are injured. Seriously injured.”

The Shadowhunter didn’t even flinch. “Kill them.”

Magnus felt his heart skip a beat and for a second he lost balance. Beside him, Isabelle gritted her teeth and immediately got rid of her capturers. She almost got to Sebastian with her electric whip already in hand, but no matter how fast she was, the Force was faster.

With a movement of his hand, Sebastian knocked her out. Magnus’ fingers brushed against cold metal hanging on his belt, ready to attack.

But it was too late.

Sebastian’s bored expression was the last thing Magnus saw before everything went dark.

\---

AL-2532 stood still, gun in hand. He was not meant to be guarding prisoners, not after being chosen to the advanced training. He was meant for command, for leading a troop in battle. But still, there he was.

And it was his own fault. The training was almost done and he had passed the theoretical part with flying colors. His shooting score was unheard of, but it was no surprise. AL-2532’s impeccable precision with any form of blaster was what drew the attention of his superiors in the first place. 

But something had changed. Being a stormtrooper his entire life had taught AL-2532 to aspire to rise high in the Circle’s hierarchy. He had dreamed that maybe one day he’d be answering directly to General Aldertree, or serving the Shadowhunter in his personal troop. That was all that he wanted. All that he worked hard to achieve.

Now, he wasn’t so sure anymore. AL-2532 had been sent to missions alongside his team, but shooting targets was different from shooting real people. Following orders was easier when there were no lives in stake but his own. That night, he broke his blaster. 

It worked at first, but the Circle would only believe that excuse for so long. AL-2532 had to come up with new ways to avoid following the orders, but soon his fellow teammates could see something was wrong. He’d make all the non-lethal shots, but there was always something preventing him from killing.

That refusal rendered AL-2532 a visit to the disciplinary center for evaluation. Captain Preston had never liked him, but he had been careful never to break any rule, so he avoided reconditioning. He did not, however, avoid a punishment for his nonconformity.

So there he was, guarding a cell with a much too embellished girl and a passed out weirdo. Great.

“You know,” the girl purred, long fingernails running down the cell’s bars, “I’m feeling kind of cold here. Maybe you can turn up the heat for me? Pretty please?”

“No,” AL-2532 said without moving a muscle. Isabelle Lightwood was famous among stormtroopers and not only for being the best pilot of the Resistance. Although she was objectively beautiful, AL-2532 had never taken interest in women like the others. To him, she looked like a child. 

A misbehaving child. Isabelle smirked, leaning against the bars. “Aren’t you cold? This place is freezing.”

“Stay clear from the bars.” AL-2532 could see her tactic. If she could get him to come close enough, he was sure the pilot wouldn’t have much trouble to steal his blaster or knock him out with a few well applied hits. 

Lightwood was rumored to be twice as smart as she was pretty and just as skilled in battle, but AL-2532 was not stupid either. 

The man groaned and brought a hand to his head. AL-2532 had no idea what planet he came from, but he was sure he had never seen anyone like him before. Nor that sense of fashion. The man was wearing at least five different necklaces that barely covered his chest, exposed by the deep neckline of his sparkly black shirt. AL-2532 was pretty sure that was not an uniform.

“Magnus,” Isabelle whispered to herself, dropping the seductive act in a second. She kneeled beside him, helping the guy to sit up. “You hit your head when you fell. Go easy.”

“Nice and slow, hm?” Magnus said with the shadow of a smirk on his lips. He looked straight at AL-2532 and his eyes had the most intriguing feline form. They were bright gold and seemed to be forever shimmering. There was something of threatening in them, but also beauty.

AL-2532 looked straight ahead. He had no business admiring a prisoner's eyes.

Isabelle continued to fuss around him, checking his vitals and so on, but Magnus assured her he was feeling fine. He seemed exceedingly calm for someone who was about to be tortured for information in the worst way possible. 

Gritting his teeth, AL-2532 moved to the communicator. He couldn’t dodge following orders any longer and he was to inform as soon as the prisoners were both awake.

“Hey, plastic boy,” Magnus called. “What does a guy have to do to get some water here?”

AL-2532 turned around, ready to tell him shut up, but suddenly he was frozen in place. If the feeling of losing control of his body wasn’t terrifying enough, those wicked golden eyes did the job. 

Magnus smirked, moving his hand with a flourish. “Now, my darling, open this cell.”

No, AL-2532 thought, but his body moved nonetheless. To his horror, his fingers typed the code and next thing he knew, he was on the floor and Isabelle was on him.

“Izzy.” Magnus sounded much too calm as he slipped out of the cell and unwrinkled his jacket. “We’ll need him to escort us to a ship.”

Isabelle smiled and there was anticipation all over her red lips. “Sure. I’ll finish him then.”

AL-2532 grunted, but couldn’t move until he felt Magnus letting him do it. What was happening? Was that magic? A drug? How could he-?

The Force. AL-2532 had never felt the power of the Shadowhunter, but so many of his fellow stormtroopers had been foolish enough to enrage him and had suffered the consequences. He had seen bodies moving despite their owners, stormtroopers choke to death with the same air they were breathing just seconds before.

Magnus was just like the Shadowhunter. But it was impossible, there were no more Force users, not since the Jedi Order was destroyed by the Supreme Leader in the Mortal War. There should be nobody else, and even if there were, they shouldn’t be trained. AL-2532 had heard the stories, he knew of all the crimes the Jedi had committed. They were tricksters, inconsequential rogues who were rightfully eradicated before they could interfere with the Order of the Shadowhunters. And yet-

“Now, my dear,” Magnus’ voice stopped all thoughts in AL-2532’s mind. “If you could be so kind to give us our weapons back.”

AL-2532 could do nothing else than stand up and unlock the drawer where the weapons were being held. Isabelle snatched her bracelet shaped whip and her blaster, and immediately started to mess with the computer. AL-2532 wanted to stop her, but he could only watch in silence. 

Magnus smiled at him, a surprisingly kind gesture. “I’m sorry for this, darling. It’s almost over.”

The hesitation was all that AL-2532 needed. For just a second, he could feel the hold on him loosen up just slight and he reached for his blaster. 

But Magnus moved his hand again and the grip was back, stronger than before. He could feel the influence travelling through his mind, leaving nothing untouched. “Naughty boy. Taking advantage of my-” Magnus frowned and he looked intrigued. The influence stopped its intrusion at once.

“Come on,” Isabelle said in a hurry. “The corridor is empty, we should move. There’s fewer chances anyone asking buckethead where he’s taking us now.”

“All right,” Magnus nodded and got his own gun. He had a funny-looking holder for it. “Okay, Stormie, take us to a vessel we can escape in. Lucky for you, Izzy can fly pretty much anything, so we’re not picky.”

AL-2532 swallowed hard as his body moved again. He lead them through the corridor, knowing full well he was walking to his doom. If General Aldertree heard of this treason, there would be no disciplinary charges to be applied. He would be send to the front line of nearest war against the terrorists, no weapon in hand.

They stopped at the side of a TIE Fighter and Isabelle was quick to slip inside the cockpit without being noticed. Magnus stayed behind and AL-2532 was sure he was about to order him to go back quietly, but he just smiled instead. 

“Climb up,” Magnus whispered gently. 

AL-2532 didn’t hesitate. He saw the surprise on Isabelle’s face as he entered the cockpit, but soon Magnus had joined them and taken his place. “We’re taking him with us.”

“What?” Isabelle frowned deeply. “Why?”

Magnus shrugged. “There’s something about him, something I can’t quite tell what. Yet.”

Isabelle shook her head. “We are not kidnapping a stormtrooper, Magnus. This is ridiculous, we-”

“We should get going, my dear.” Magnus gestured for AL-2532 to take seat. “We have a long way home.”

Sighing, Isabelle rolled her eyes. “All right, but you’ll tell Luke that you wanted a pet-stormtrooper, not me. Can you unleash the locker, please? Thank you.” She smirked and looked at the panel, cracking her fingers. “Buckle up. This is going to be bumpy and not in the good way.”

Magnus winked at her and held the shooting controls. “I can handle rough. Can you?” He smiled at AL-2532.

The stormtrooper wanted to punch him, but he still couldn’t control his own body. He felt as the TIE Fighter began to move, first slowly so it would take off without raising much suspicion but, sure enough, the command tower reached out to inquire who was inside the vessel. 

“Your worst nightmare,” Isabelle answered and blew them a kiss before sprinting them away. 

Magnus giggled and started shooting. AL-2532 was thrown to the other side of the cockpit, unable to brace himself anywhere. He couldn’t see much, but judging by what Isabelle and Magnus were shouting to each other, they were getting away. And fast.

Isabelle kicked him so he’d be facing her. “Hold tight, whitehat. We’re going hyper speed.”

There was no time to protest. In a second, AL-2532 felt the pressure of hyper speed crushing him down. Thankfully, they arrived at another system quickly enough and the torture stopped.

Magnus picked up a blaster and pointed it at AL-2532. “Darling, I’m releasing you now. Please don’t do anything stupid or I’ll have to shooting you, and I really don’t want to do that.”

The sensation of his body hit him so hard, AL-2532 was happy he was laying down. He’d probably fall if he wasn’t. Sitting up, he moved his arms, staring at his shaking hands to make sure there was no remains of influence left.

If he was going to shoot his way back to the Clave, he’d need his fingers working fine.

“I can’t believe you insisted in bringing him,” Isabelle said without even looking at them. “Luke won’t be happy.”

“That’s just something about him. I can see it in his mind,” Magnus said calmly, leaning his chin on a hand as if he wasn’t pointing a very lethal gun to AL-2532’s face. “What is your name, darling?”

“I don’t-” AL-2532 tried, his voice hoarse and unused. “I don’t have a name. They call me AL-2532.”

Isabelle turned her head back to that and there was something fierce in her dark eyes. Magnus and her exchanged a look and, when he looked back at their prisoner, there was sympathy in his face. 

“AL, hm?” He smiled gently. “Alexander is a beautiful name. Would it be okay if we called you that?”

“Or Alec. Alec is cuter.” Isabelle smiled too, but quickly turned her attention back to maneuvering the ship.

AL-2532 swallowed hard. “I… I like Alec.”

“Good!” Magnus’s smile grew brighter. “Listen, Alec, we’re about to land in the heart of the Downworlder Resistance. They are not huge fans of stormtroopers, so stay close and try not to pick any fights. I can guarantee your safety if you do that.”

“What are you?” Alec asked, backing out to the edge of the ship. “You can use… You use the Force. H-how?”

Magnus smiled fondly. “I’m a Jedi.”

Alec shook his head. “That’s impossible. There are no more Jedis. They are gone, they’re just legends.”

“Oh darling. I’m pretty legendary, yes. Thank you for noticing. Just don’t say that in front of Jace, okay? He doesn’t need an ego boost.” Magnus smiled at Izzy’s sneer. “I can answer all your questions later, I’m sure you have tons. For now, just sit back and relax.”

Instinct is a funny thing. For twenty-three years, AL-2532 was taught to ignore it, to repress it. He was taught to follow orders, to listen to commands. He was never to question, never to think. The Circle would think for him. The Supreme Leader knew best. He was only to obey.

But it was instinct that made Alec move. He got to Magnus in time to kick the blaster away and the second strike was about to follow, but Magnus was ready for that one. Once again, Alec felt his body stopping despite of himself.

“I’m sorry,” Magnus said and Alec saw black.

\---

Turns out, bringing a stormtrooper back to the Resistance’s base wasn’t the best idea Magnus had ever had. 

But it wasn’t the worst one either. He still remembered the time he followed Jace and Isabelle to that frozen planet and they ended up being chased by angry wampas. Three of them.

So really, Magnus didn’t understand why Luke had been so mad. Isabelle had been sensible enough to turn off the stormtrooper’s tracker before even getting close to the base and the guy had no guns on him. Magnus checked personally.

Plus, Alec had been out for hours, so there was no way he’d knew how to get there. He couldn’t tell on them even if he managed to contact the Circle, and that was a big ‘if’.

“I’ve never seen Luke so angry,” Clary said in a small voice.

Magnus shrugged. “I have, Biscuit. He’ll come around, don’t worry.” He looked at Alec, still unmoving inside the cell. It was getting annoying to see the stormtrooper through bars. 

Jace huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. “Do we have to babysit him? I’m sure we’ll know when he wakes up. He’ll probably start chanting the Circle’s anthem or something.”

“Or try to attack one of us,” Isabelle said from where she was standing, “again.” 

“Like you wouldn’t attack the people kidnapping you, dear.” Magnus sighed. Their mission was to prevent the kidnapping of children, but when they saw one of the victims, there was no compassion. This was wrong. “You guys can go. I’ll watch him by myself, if you can’t be bothered to hear what a stolen child has to say.”

Nobody moved. For all of their complaints, Magnus knew he could count on the nephilims. At least, on those nephilims in particular. All they needed was a little guidance.

Magnus wondered what Master Ragnor would have to say if he saw him there. Probably something annoying and condescending. And kind, infinitely kind.

S1-M0N gasped. “He’s awake.” 

There was something spooky on how S1-M0N sensed things, being a droid and all. But then again, he was a weird thing altogether. His most redeeming quality, in Magnus’ eyes, was his unwavering loyalty to Clary ever since she put him together when she was not much older than six years old. 

His biggest flaw, on the other hand, was his speaker system. “Or maybe he’s just spasming. It is hard to know, with that helmet on his face. Someone should have taken it off. I could calculate the chances of it being a convulsion due to Magnus messing up with his head so many times in such a short time frame.”

“Thank you, Simon,” Jace cut him off. “That’s enough.”

It rendered him a nasty glare from Clary, but Jace didn’t care. Alec moved to sit up, looking around with sharp, desperate movements and Magnus almost felt bad. He knew how awful it was to wake up in a cell and he had promised to keep the stormtrooper safe.

Well, kind of. It wasn’t as if he had kept his part of the deal. “Good morning,” Magnus said cheerfully. “Are you feeling more cooperative now?”

“Why did you bring me here?” Alec roared. “What do you want from me?”

Jace whistled. “Let’s take that as a hard ‘no’.”

Magnus glared at him impatiently. That was not helpful. “Alec, dear, why don’t you take that helmet off? I’d like to see your eyes as we speak.”

“Don’t call me that. And I’m not taking it off.” There was anger in the stormtrooper’s voice, but Magnus could recognize something else. Fear.

“I’m not forcing you to do it, if you don’t want to,” Magnus reassured him calmly. “And I’m sorry for doing so earlier. I’m sure you can understand I was under some distressing circumstances.”

Alec moved just slightly. “I can relate,” he said, viciously. But the fear was gone.

Magnus smiled and leaned forward. “You’re not the only one displeased with your presence here, darling. They,” he gestured for the others standing around him, “are not quite happy about it. That’s because all they see is a stormtrooper. One just like hundreds of others, that had killed and maimed our friends and allies. They know nothing about you.”

The silence that came from Alec was somewhat threatening, like he was waiting the moment to attack. “And you do?”

“I’d like to.” Magnus cocked his head to the side. “I know you’ve been struggling with following orders. I know you refuse to kill civilians. I know you have questions. But that’s me talking. Prove to them that you’re not a monster under that mask. Take that leap of faith, and maybe we can help you find answers.”

An eternal moment passed, but finally Alec rose his arms up and depressurized his helmet, taking it off slowly.

Magnus held his breath. There was a young man looking back at him and his face was all angles and defiance. He had big hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and a scar in his eyebrow. His jaw was pressed tight, a contrast with his wild black hair that pointed to every direction. 

And just like that, there was a person inside the cell. A gorgeous person.

“Oh wow,” Magnus said in awe. “I’m the luckiest guy in the galaxy.”

Jace cleared his throat. Leave it to him to interrupt this most glorious moment. “Okay, let’s stop this right here before Magnus convinces him to strip out of the entire uniform. We’ve seen enough.”

“You’re no fun.” Magnus looked over to Isabelle, who would usually be the first to help him in the quest of relieving a handsome guy from his attire, but she seemed too mesmerized to have listened to the discussion. “Izzy, dear, are you okay?”

Isabelle blinked, getting out of her stupor slowly. “Yes, it’s just-” She shook her head and smirked at Magnus, raising a hand towards him. “Impeccable taste, as always.”

“Thank you.” Magnus obliged to the high-five.

“Guys,” S1-M0N said tentatively, “as pretty as he is - and don’t get me wrong, he has very equivalent face features, very symmetrical - I fail to see how that is pertinent to the current situation.” 

Alec seemed to agree, judging by his unimpressed expression. Magnus wondered if that should be as hot as it was. “Sherman is right, this is not the time to discuss how unfairly beautiful Alec is. The time will be tonight, at the assembly with Raphael, so I can boost about finding the best looking stormtrooper in the Circle. Too bad they don’t go with clones anymore. I’d like to order five more.”

Clearing his throat rather rudely, Jace stepped forward. He had been much nicer when Magnus had taken him as his padawan, all those years ago. “I was told your name is Alec, is that right?”

“No. They call me AL-2532.”

“Alec, then,” Jace said without a second of consideration. “We’re keeping you in that cell until we know you’re trustworthy.”

There was hate on Alec’s eyes as he stared at Jace silently, but it was the only sign of emotion on his otherwise neutral expression. A soldier’s expression. It made him look older and somewhat dead inside. “Either kill me or let me go. I will never betray the Circle.”

Jace threw Magnus an exasperated look, but it was Clary who spoke up next. “But you already have. If what Magnus saw is true, then you have betrayed them in mind, if not in action. And that is a good thing. The Circle is cruel and what they are doing is wrong.”

Magnus winced. Clary meant well and there was nothing false about what she said, but that was not the right approach at all. Alec’s entire body stiffened and he reached for where his blaster would’ve been, only to find it empty. 

“Who are you to say what is wrong and what is right?” Alec’s voice was low and dangerous. He didn’t need a weapon or a stormtrooper helmet to seem dangerous. No wonder his superiors had selected him for command. “The Circle keeps the peace in the galaxy, which scums like you try to disrupt. The Supreme Leader is right, you’re all terrorists-”

He never got to finish his sentence, though. Jace moved his hand, knocking Alec down at once.

“What are you doing?!” Magnus stood up. “We can’t just silence him just because we don’t like what we hear. He’ll never understand if he’s not given a chance.”

“Like you gave him a chance when you kidnapped him? Like you gave us a chance when you decided to bring a stormtrooper to our base?” Jace inhaled sharply, but his eyes kept trailing off to where Clary stood, deadly silent. Simon had moved to stand by her while Isabelle just watched the scene from afar. “You were my master, Magnus, but you’re not anymore. Don’t expect me to stand by and let a stormtrooper insult us with the Circle’s lies.”

Magnus looked at all of them, feeling the flow of complicated emotions pass through him. He knew every single one of those emotions, he had them himself. But he couldn’t let them reign over him, or cloud his decisions.

He looked at Alec, who was yet another victim of the same enemy they had dedicated their lives to defeat. There stood a little boy whose childhood had been stolen by Valentine, like all of theirs. A puppet whose strings were still very much tied up to.

Or were they? Magnus sighed and closed his eyes. It was fading now, but he could still see Alec’s memory of diffusing his blaster, of him aiming at innocent civilians and never pressing the trigger, of him seeing the trail of destruction and wondering about its inevitability.

Magnus saw doubt and unconformity, but most of all, he saw hope.

Bringing a stormtrooper to their base may not have been the wisest decision he had ever made, but it might just be the first step they needed to finally turn the tables on the Circle. And Alec just might be the key to doing so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge, ginourmous, loving thank you for my wife [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit) for both betaing and helping plot this baby. Love you, babe <3
> 
> And another thank you for my adored [Kazechama](http://kazechama.tumblr.com/). That was a fun ride. Get it? ;D
> 
> You can find me on both [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, sharks <3
> 
> Who's ready for more Star Wars?
> 
> I think now I can say with a certain degree of sureness that I'll be updating this baby every Saturday. If anything changes, I'll let you guys know.
> 
> Now, let's do this.

Turned out having a stormtrooper as a prisoner was not the problem in itself. Any regular stormtrooper would probably just keep quiet in his cell, not bothering anyone. There were even reports of them killing themselves in order to not betray the Circle, so Luke gave orders to deprive Alec of anything he could use to commit suicide.

But of course, Alec wasn’t just your regular Circle soldier. They shouldn’t have to be afraid of him hurting himself at all.

Magnus wasn’t sure what the standard procedure among captured stormtroopers was, but he was quite certain rendering a droid prisoner when they offered Alec to go from the cell to a room wasn’t it.

But alas, Alec continued to surprise him. And right now, he had a blaster pointed at S1-M0N’s neck and a cold expression on his hazel eyes.

“Let me go or I’ll blast this droid’s memory storage,” Alec threatened in a low voice, looking straight at the camera on the wall. Clary stood motionless a few feet from him, her green eyes burning with loathing as she couldn’t do anything to save her best friend. Alec had taken her blaster from her and was using it to keep both S1-M0N and her hostages.

Somewhere between visits and silently listening to their conversations, Alec had learned a few key things that explained his behavior. First, he learned that Clary was not only Valentine’s daughter, but also that she had built S1-M0N and cherished him beyond almost everyone else. Alec also learned that Clary was General Luke’s adoptive daughter and that he’d do anything for her.

Concluding he could use the droid to control her and get a way out was not far-fetched, Magnus had to admit. Smart stormtrooper, if anything else.

“Let’s all just calm down and take a deep breath, hm?” S1-M0N said. Unfortunately, Alec had only deactivated his motion programming and not his speaker system. “I mean, those of us who can breathe. Oxygen has calming properties for living organisms, I’ve heard. It’s also essential to guarantee life, which is in everyone’s interest.”

“Shut up,” Alec grunted. “I want the… the Jedis to stay away. Morgenstern will lead me to a vessel and I’ll leave her and the droid on the nearest planet.”

“My name is Clary Fray. Do not call me that.” Clary sounded every bit as feral as Alec, only she was fire where he was ice.

Magnus looked up at Luke. They had been in the middle of a strategical meeting when the alarm went off. Luke had cleared the room but for Magnus, Jocelyn, and Raphael Santiago, who was in charge of internal security.

The General hadn’t been too keen on letting Alec stay, but he had shut down any suggestion of executing the stormtrooper. Right now, he seemed to be reconsidering.

“Let me talk to him,” Magnus pleaded again. Raphael had guards surrounding the prison wing, but he was waiting on Luke’s orders to attack. Jace among them.

“You’ve been talking to him every day and it made no difference.” Luke stared at the image of his step-daughter and then glanced at Jocelyn. Her eyes were glued to the screen that showed her daughter.

“He’s just scared!” Magnus looked at the screen showing Alec’s face, at how the stormtrooper was barely breathing. “Alec’s been here for three days, in a cell, with no way to know what is happening. He’s trying to do what Izzy and I did. He’s trying to escape.”

But that wasn’t what Luke was seeing. “He’s pointing a gun at Clary.”

Magnus channeled all of his training not to wince at the General’s tone. Alec was a dead man if he kept that show going. “I can easily disable him if I get close enough. He’s scared, Luke. That’s all.”

And it was. No matter how stern Alec’s face was, his eyes told the truth. He didn’t go after Clary and S1-M0N out of vengeance; he did it out of desperation. It was an all or nothing move, too risky for someone who had kept quiet for a couple of days, only watching and learning, to pick as a first choice.

Alec was too smart not to know the chances of that playing out were minimal. Magnus knew, because he had been in Alec’s mind. It wasn’t a desire to go back that moved him, no. It was fear. Fear of what the Circle would do if they knew he didn’t even try returning.

Alec was afraid of being captured by the Resistance, but he was terrified of the Circle. And that fear made him dangerous.

“Did you hear me?!” Alec shouted.

Luke clenched his teeth and pressed the microphone’s switch. “This is General Luke Garroway speaking. There’s no way out, Alec. Put the gun down.”

Surprise flashed on Alec’s face for just a moment before he regained control of his face. “Just let me go.”

Magnus drew Luke’s attention to himself with a flourish of his hand. “He won’t hurt Clary. Alec sees her as Valentine’s daughter, he wouldn’t dare hurt her. Let me speak with him.”

“No, Magnus. I won’t risk Clary. Nor Simon.”

“Please, Luke. He’s just a kid. Look at him. He’s no different than I was when you found me.”

Something shifted in Luke’s tense posture. His fingers were still holding the edges of the central table of the meeting room tight, but his eyes no longer had a vicious, protective glimmer. He considered for a second and then handed the microphone to Magnus. “You have five minutes and then I’m letting Jace on him.”

“Alec.” Magnus lost no time with pleasantries. “We can’t let you go.”

“This is your fault,” Alec said viciously. “You should have never made me board that vessel.”

“Oh, darling. It may be hard for you to see it now, but you’re better off away from those monsters.” Magnus fidgeted with the rings on his fingers for a second. “I promise you, Alexander. They can’t hurt you here.”

Alec inhaled sharply, a shaken thing. “Nobody is safe from the Circle,” he said, barely louder than a whisper. He shook his head, closing his eyes. “I have to go back.”

Magnus’ fingers closed around the microphone hander, knuckles going white. “You don’t, Alexander. They can’t get you here. You’re safe. Put the gun down. Nobody has to get hurt, not anymore.”

Pressing his lips together, Alec looked between S1-M0N and Clary. “Why don’t you want to go back?” he asked quietly. “The Supreme Leader wants you back. You and Lady Morgenstern.”

Clary blinked, surprised to say the least. “Because my father is a madman. Because I refuse to believe he’s right when he says the galaxy must be cleansed. Because he’s wrong.”

Alec shook his head. “But how… How can you be sure? The Circle maintains peace and security. I’ve stopped a man from blowing up an entire city. How can that be bad?” He inhaled again, painfully and desperate. “I-I was trained to serve the Clave’s interest. That’s what the Circle does.”

Pain. Pain and fear. Magnus didn’t have to be in that room to feel them coming from Alec. “But, darling, if that’s so, then why would you have doubts regarding your loyalty? Why would you go against orders?” Magnus sighed, sadness taking over him. “Why would they make you so afraid? You have a good heart, Alexander. Listen to it.”

“I… I-I…” Alec looked at the blaster in his hand and closed his eyes. Once again, he breathed in, but this time there was a certainty to it. “I’m sorry.”

He pushed S1-M0N away from him and put the blaster down, raising both hands to the air. Luke sighed in relief at the same time that Jocelyn did and Raphael sent a signal to his troops. In seconds, his guards were inside the prison wing and Alec was on his knees, immobilized.

Magnus bit his lower lip. “Please don’t hurt him, Raphael.”

“Sure. I’ll tell them not to hurt the guy who was threatening the General’s daughter.” Raphael rolled his eyes when Magnus just sustained his gaze and grabbed his speaker. “Put him back in the cell. Gently.”

“No.” Luke looked up. “Magnus is right. The boy is afraid and part of it is because we’ve been treating him like the Circle would. As far as we know, he hasn’t commit any crimes.” He looked at Jocelyn, who nodded fiercely in agreement. “Get him a room in the dormitories.”

Fighting the huge grin on his face, Magnus straightened himself. “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t thank me just yet, Magnus. He’s your responsibility now.” Luke threw a serious glance at him. “One more misstep and I’ll personally fly him to an inhabited planet. And I’ll leave you there too.”

“I wouldn’t mind some privacy with him.” Magnus smirked despite the worry growing inside him.

He looked at Raphael as he ordered his man to take Alec to one of the dormitories and sighed. What the hell have he got himself into this time?

\---

More than a week had passed since Alec was relocated to the dormitories in the Resistance base and most of it had been a boring affair. After his disaster of an escape plan, Alec had kept to himself, rarely venturing outside his room. Magnus had visited him every day, but always unsuccessfully. Alec never let him in and just stayed quietly inside.

It was for the best. Things were a little tense in the aftermath of the whole affair, so the less public appearances, the better. Besides, the only time Alec left his dorm was for food. The rest of the time, he spent in his room, exercising.

It wasn’t very interesting, but it picked up Magnus’ attention once Alec got rid of the white plastoid composite of his uniform, revealing a lean and built up body underneath the tight black clothes. Suddenly, Magnus’ struggles to try and win Alec over to the Light always coincided with the stormtrooper’ push-up routine.

Funny how the Force works.

In fact, it was almost ‘watch the hot piece of ass get hotter’ time, so Magnus shoved the sandwich he was eating into his mouth and got up at once, startlingly poor S1-M0N. The droid had been going on and on about the last mission Clary and him went on together, so Magnus had turned off hours ago.

“As interesting as that was,” Magnus smiled cheerfully, “I’m off. Have fun, kids.”

Jace arched an eyebrow, leaning his elbow on Clary’s chair. “Oh, come on. You can’t really be going to talk to Alec again. It never works.”

Magnus shrugged. “I like keeping him company. The poor thing is there all alone. No friends. No one to talk to.”

“Yeah, except for the crazy lunatic who kidnapped him.”

“Now, now, Jace.” Magnus smiled brightly. “If you spent less time with a lightsaber in your hands and more time with books instead, you’d know crazy and lunatic mean the same thing. Have you forgot to train your mind as well as your body? I know for a fact you’re overdoing one of those things. It’s all about balance.”

Jace narrowed his eyes at him, but there was all the response he dignified Magnus with. The matter should have been settled - Magnus even nodded in approval of the lack of answer -, but Clary had other plans.

“I agree with Jace,” she declared seriously. “I don’t think you should be wasting your time with Alec. He’s in too deep.”

Ever since the accident, Clary had turned completely against Alec. She didn’t trust him in the slightest, not even the possibility of him becoming trustworthy someday. To Clary, he was a stormtrooper, an enemy that had sentenced himself the moment he took her blaster from her and pointed it to her best friend. 

Magnus couldn’t exactly blame her. “Biscuit,” he started carefully. As caring and dedicated as Clary was, making her listen to reason was not always an easy task. It usually got twice as hard when she had made up her mind. “Valentine may have poisoned him with false beliefs, but this is all the more reason for us not to give up on him. If we can help him change his mind, then we’re that much closer to helping the others too.”

Clary frowned. “You saw what he did to Simon. It took me hours to reboot his motion system. Even more time to stop him from shaking.”

“Which only happened because of a glitch, I can guarantee,” S1-M0N added quickly. “I’m okay now.”

“Simon is used to being captured anyway.” Jace leaned his chin on his hand. “I guess it’s hard to trust a stormtrooper, when that’s all we know about him.”

Fair enough. Magnus nodded and pointed to himself with a flourish. “And that’s why I keep trying to crack that shell of his. Gain his trust. I’m trying to understand what Alec’s thinking. Even if sometimes it’s hard, I mean, I’ve used my best lines and I don’t even get an answer. It’s like he’s not even interested.”

Jace shuddered. “Gross. I don’t want to know about you hitting on him. And if you are, you’re going about this all wrong anyway.”

“Oh, am I?” Magnus crossed his arms against his chest. “Should I take flirting advices from you, Jacewan?”

“According to my records, that would be inadvisable,” S1-M0N objected categorically.

Cocking his head to the side, Jace just smirked and ignored the droid. “If you go there every day, he’ll only grow annoyed. Let him miss you. Play hard to get.”

“What are we talking about?” Isabelle leaned on the table, taking the seat beside Clary. She was still wearing her pilot uniform, but her hair made up for the blandness of her look. “No, let me guess. Tall, dark and handsome? A little mentally unstable? Magnus’ latest obsession, not that I blame him?”

An ally. Magnus was ecstatic. “Jace has a ridiculous theory that I have to make Alec miss me so he’ll open up. About his feelings, I mean. Not that I would mind if he wanted to open his-”

“Actually, I think Jace has a point.” Isabelle waited the appropriate amount time so Magnus could gasp in offense and Jace could smirk in triumph before elaborating. “Though not about you playing hard to get. I think somebody else should try to talk to Alec.”

There were no words to express the betrayal Magnus felt, but before Isabelle could point out who she thought should do the job, Jace stood up. “I’ll go. I’ve always wanted a best friend that doesn’t fall for Magnus’ cheap flirting techniques.”

S1-M0N brought a hand to his batteries. “I thought I was your best friend.”

Jace shrugged. “You’ve fallen for Magnus’ cheap flirting techniques the second you met him.”

“I see Sheldon more as a particularly annoying son, not going to lie.” Magnus raised a hand to intervene. “But I don’t blame him. I’m very likable.”

“Besides, half of the galaxy is in love with Magnus. He’s very popular among the droids as well,” S1-M0N counted on his fingers as he spoke. “I still have records of that time he got that Senator to allow him access to a Clave meeting by winking at her. Do you guys want to watch the video?”

Both Isabelle and Jace answered ‘no’ at the same time, silencing Clary’s enthusiastic nod. Magnus was very touched. “Anyway,” he said dismissively. “If Jace thinks he can get Alec to talk, then so be it. No mind tricks allowed, though.”

“Obviously.” Jace grinned in confidence and patted S1-M0N on the shoulder. “Hack the cameras. You guys won’t want to miss this.”

Jace took his sweet time to show up on S1-M0N’s screen, so when he did, Magnus, Clary and Isabelle had gathered around the droid and had already placed bets on the younger Jedi’s degree of success.

None of them, however, expected Jace to show up by the dormitory’s corridor carrying a change of clothes. “Hey man,” he said, knocking on Alec’s door. “I got something for you.”

It took a few moments, but the door opened. Alec stared at Jace silently and judging by his messy hair, he had been sleeping. It didn’t make him seem less ready to fight, until he realized what Jace was holding.

He accepted the clothes tentatively and then looked between Jace and them with suspicion. “Why did you bring me these?”

Jace shrugged. “Pretty sure they teach you hygiene in stormie school.”

“Yes, but you already provide me water for showers.” Alec remained unconvinced.

“If you don’t want them, give them back.” Jace extended an open hand.

Alec looked between the scraps he had on and the new clothes. “Thank you,” he said in resignation.

Jace smiled a little. “Let’s give you some privacy.” He closed the door on Alec’s face. “Tell me when you’re done.”

“Oh, come on!” Magnus exclaimed loudly. To his dismay, both Isabelle and Clary seemed to find that extremely funny, judging by their fits of giggles.

Great. Not only Jace had an excellent idea before he did, now he was depriving Magnus of its perks. He’d have to teach that boy to show some respect to his seniors.

“I’m done,” Alec said, but Jace took his sweet time until he opened the door. Once again, Alec was covered from neck down, but now he looked like one of them. Magnus especially liked the stubble.

Jace smiled and nodded in approval. “Feel better now?”

“Cleaner, yes.”

“Good. Now you look like a real person. It suits you.” Jace leaned against the opposite wall and crossed his arms. 

Alec only dignified that with a glare and turned around, ready to end that conversation.

But Jace wouldn’t have that. “Take good care of those clothes. The shirt was mine, but the pants I got from Luke. Felt like they’d fit better.”

It took him a second, but when Alec understood what Jace meant, his eyes shut open and he turned back. “G-general Luke Garroway? He…? What?”

Jace smirked and shot Alec a secretive wink. “He won’t know if you don’t tell. Besides, if he didn’t want anyone in his room, he wouldn’t make it so easy to get in there.”

“You stole from your General?” Alec shook his head in disbelief. “That’s absurd.”

“No,” Magnus complained out loud. “Absurd is the fact that you’re talking to Jace. Stop that nonsense.”

S1-M0N brought a finger to his speaker set. “They’re finally speaking instead of just gazing into each other’s eyes.”

The only thing worse than being told off by a droid would be acknowledging that just happened, so Magnus just arched an unimpressed eyebrow, but shut up nonetheless.

Jace shrugged nonchalantly and stepped closer. “It’s less absurd than messing up with your own weapon before going into a battle. How did you manage to do that without anyone realizing you broke it?”

For a second Alec looked like he was going to ignore the question, just like all the times Magnus tried to pry an answer from him. But then he turned to Jace and shrugged. “I diffused the compressor. Just had to broke the valve, which could had happened during manufacturing, and then the energy gas was never converted into plasma. I could pull the trigger how many times I wanted, there would be no shots fired.”

The impressed look on Jace’s face was genuine. “How did you know how to do that?”

“I’m good with guns,” Alec said dismissively.

“So am I, but that doesn’t mean I know how to assemble one.”

Alec arched an eyebrow at him. “Then you’re not as good as you think you are.”

Magnus couldn’t surpass - and really didn’t try to - a laugh at that.

Jace cocked his head to the side and chuckled. “Sounds like a challenge to me. Maybe one day you’ll decide to leave your room and we can find out who’s a better shot.” Alec stiffened, but Jace shook his head. “Calm down. I meant in a shooting range. We have one here.”

“The resistance wouldn’t give a gun to a prisoner.”

“Yeah, that would be stupid. But you’re not a prisoner. You have a room.” Jace gestured behind Alec. “A boring-ass, standard room, but a room nonetheless.” He smiled confidently.

But Alec was not smiling at all. “I’m not a traitor. I won’t join the resistance.”

“Nobody asked you to,” Jace said. Magnus could see all the training pouring through him, calmness channeling into every word. “There’s more to it than the Circle and the Resistance. You can be more than a stormtrooper or a rebel.”

Alec seemed to consider his words. “Like what for example?”

Jace shrugged. “You can be a farmer. A businessman. A smuggler.” He chuckled at Alec’s affronted scowl. “But first, I think you should learn how to be just Alec.”

“Shut that down,” Magnus said and looked away. Jace might not be the most conventional Jedi, but then again, neither is Magnus. But if there was something Magnus trusted his former padawan with, it was reading people.

S1-M0N, Isabelle and Clary were staring at him with perplexed expressions, but Magnus just smiled. “I have an idea on how to gain Alec’s trust,” he announced with confidence. “And it involves all of us.”

\---

Jace’s words were still ringing in Alec’s mind, even a day after his visit. Somewhere between the third and the fourth day in the cell, he had started to think of himself as that Alec everyone seemed so fond to call him as.

He had to admit it felt more personal than AL-2532. However, he knew who AL-2532 was. He was a soldier and brilliant at it. He rose from the bottom of his class to the only one picked for command. He never hesitated, never questioned.

No, that wasn’t true. I hadn’t been for a while now.

Was that Alec? The name had come later, but the person who sabotaged his own gun, who let civilians live against orders, who wondered if all they did was really the right way… He had been that person for months now.

But still, aside from the nonconformity, he had no idea who Alec was. Who he wanted him to be.

According to Jace, he could be anyone and anything. He didn’t have to be a rebel, to be part of the Downworlder Resistance, the same way he didn’t have to be a stormtrooper. And that was something unthinkable until then.

The door of his room swung open, revealing Izzy Lightwood. Alec blinked, stooping his exercise routine to get up. That was a first. Usually, he’d have to open it manually.

Isabelle approached the bed and sat down, wiggling the platter she was carrying. “Lunch time,” she announced cheerfully and put it down on the bed as well. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m offended that you’d think I can’t hack into the doors’ system with one hand busy.”

Her confidence was something of another world, but it made Alec scoffed. He stepped closer and joined her on the bed, examining what Isabelle had brought him carefully.

On first thought, Alec considered if they would try to poison him, like Captain Preston always said they would. But that was ridiculous. If they had people like Jace and Magnus, then they could get everything Alec knew from him without resorting to that. Besides, Isabelle wouldn’t just stay there, smiling in excitement.

“Are we having a personal conversation too?” Alec asked as he removed the cover of the biggest bowl to reveal the food in it.

Or whatever that was. Alec had never seen anything like it; it looked like someone had thrown sand in brown water and made a poor job in stirring it together with pieces of dead plants. It was disgusting.

Maybe they were trying to poison him after all.

Isabelle beamed proudly. “I just want to see if you like it. I made it myself.”

Alec frowned, trying to discern if that was a joke or not. It wasn’t rare for older stormtroopers to mess with the younger ones if they knew they wouldn’t be caught and Alec had survived a few pranks himself. There was nothing on Isabelle’s face that alarmed him, though. Just pure anticipation.

Alec cleared his throat. “Thank you.” He picked up the spoon and tried to get some of it, but it was surprisingly hard.

There was an awkward silence between them in which Alec tried again, unsuccessfully. Isabelle sighed. “Try the other one. It’s also porridge, but it was Magnus who made it.”

This time, Alec recognized the dish. It smelled wonderfully and he could see that what was laying on top of it was actually fruit. That wasn’t how they made it in the Circle’s base.

When he tasted it, Alec forgot for a second he was in the middle of a silent war.

Isabelle blinked. “Is that a smile I see?”

“This is so good.” Alec had another spoonful. “I’ve never had it with fruit before.”

“I know, right? Magnus is the best cook. But you should try with Tatooine pepper on it.”

Alec looked at her as if she was insane. “Why would you do that? Tatooine pepper is poisonous.”

Crossing her arms, Isabelle narrowed her eyes at him. “Only in great quantities.” She rolled her eyes when all Alec did was stare at her. “I guess that’s why nobody lets me cook. One can only be amazing in so many things.”

“Practice makes perfect.” Alec sighed and had another spoonful.

Isabelle nodded and grabbed the cup of coffee. “You should sit with us during lunch. I see you sitting by yourself at the cafeteria. It’s sad.”

“I don’t think Fray and her robot would like that.”

“Clary will forgive you, eventually.” Isabelle shrugged and she didn’t seem worried at all. “It was very dramatic and everything, but you didn’t hurt anyone in the end and that’s what counts. Besides, we have bigger problems now.”

Alec frowned as he watched the pilot’s usually upbeat persona turn to seriousness. “What happened?”

Isabelle shook her head. “The Circle happened. They attacked another planet. Magnus and Jace were sent there, but since our last mission, Luke doesn’t want us mingling in attacked planets so soon after the attacks.” Although she kept her voice professional, Isabelle’s eyes were too sad to ignore. “There are no survivors. We’re too late. Again.”

Suddenly the food lost its taste in Alec’s mouth. He wanted to say something to comfort the pilot, something that would make her smile again. But he had nothing to offer. “Which planet was it?”

“Hosnian Prime.” Isabelle took another sip, concentrating on the black liquid.

“But Hosnian Prime was a terrorist den. They harbored weapons and-” Alec stopped himself when he saw the look on the pilot’s face. “T-That’s what I’ve been told. General Aldertree said they kept a weapon of mass destruction there. Something capable of destroying entire solar systems.”

Isabelle’s smart eyes studied Alec for a moment before she decided to speak. “It makes sense that they would lie about it. Hosnian Prime was where the Resistance kept one of our bases. It was a meeting point between the senators of the Clave that back us up, and Luke and the other high-ranked officers.” She smiled sadly and fished her communicator from her high boots, showing Alec a picture of herself, her right arm involved in a cocoon while she and another woman smiled. “It was also a center of rehabilitation for those who got hurt fighting for our cause or any victim of the Circle’s cruelty. That’s Catarina Loss, head of the medical center. Thankfully she wasn’t there during the attack.”

Alec looked down at where he kept his stormtrooper mask. Maybe Isabelle was lying, telling him stories that would make him change loyalties. Maybe it was all a ruse.

But it didn’t make sense. Not as she stared at the picture in silence, her entire semblance covered in grief. Isabelle wasn’t lying, so there was only one explanation. The Circle was.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Alec said quietly. He didn’t know if there was anything else he could say. Not when he was supposed to be in missions like the one that had wiped Hosnian out of existence. Not when he was one of the people that would’ve raid the base thinking they were saving the galaxy from terrorists when, in truth, they were the ones bringing terror to it.

“Well.” Isabelle shook her head and smiled through her pain. “Enough of this. We’ll have a ceremony to mourn the ones we lost, but we have a resistance to organize. We can’t let them go in vain.”

Alec watched her for a moment. “That’s very brave.”

Isabelle smiled a little more and touched the diamond hanging around her neck. “I’m a Nephilim. We’re a warrior race. Brave by nature.”

It made sense. Alec had seen the runes drawn on Isabelle’s and Jace’s skin. They were just like the ones both the Shadowhunter and General Aldertree had. There were rumors even the Supreme Leader had those too but, thankfully, Alec had never seen him to be sure.

They were all from Alicante, a planet that had been the birthplace of the Circle years ago, by order of the Clave. The Mortal War had left the planet broken and the Circle’s departure was a blow Alicante couldn’t stand. Greed and thirst for power consumed whatever hope of recovery there was left and, without the guidance of the Supreme Leader, the Nephilims destroyed each other until there was no one left.

Or close to it. Alec had always thought the only Nephilims that still existed were the ones in the Circle and a couple of Clave members like Senator Imogen. They were all powerful beings, fearless and single-minded. They had no mercy in their advances, like the Shadowhunter, and they calculated every attack with a cold heart, like General Aldertree. Nephilims were ruthless warriors, fit for command and although Alec had always admired them, he had also been afraid of them.

But now he knew better.

Isabelle was there, still fighting fiercely for what she thought was right while still caring and mourning for those she loved. Jace, in his own reckless and arrogant way, had opened Alec’s eyes to a whole new universe and they didn’t even know each other. And Clary Fray, who could’ve had the galaxy on their knees if she had just sided with her father, took her stand and chose the Resistance without any hesitation. Is that what being a Nephilim was all about?

Alec looked at the stormtrooper mask, at its cold black eyes. He knew what it was to look through them, but ever since he had taken that mask off it was as if he started to see things clearly for the first time.

Maybe it wasn’t just a Nephilim bravery. Maybe fighting for a cause, fighting for righteousness gave them all the strength to go on. Because Magnus Bane was just as brave as any of them and he wasn’t a Nephilim. Neither was General Luke, who had taken a leap of faith and given Alec a room when he ought to have him executed instead.

So maybe Alec didn’t have to a rebel like them but if he could be just half as brave, then maybe he didn’t have to be a stormtrooper either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next on: Downworlder Resistance Council Babes + Stormtrooper Jokes + Max! Is! Here!
> 
> The biggest thank you for the wifey [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit) for being the fastest beta of the West. Love you so much, babe!
> 
> As for me, I'm available (and willing) for comments/asks/yelling on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Tracking #asfj on Twitter if you feel like live-tweeting.
> 
> Ketz


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey :D
> 
> Another one, guys, directly from a galaxy far far away.
> 
> Warnings: Too much hotness as the downworlder council babes meet on screen/page.

“What is he doing here?” Clary asked, frozen in place. Her brow was furrowed and although she wasn’t pointing at him, everyone knew who she was talking about.

Alec winced and his eyes darted to Jace immediately. For someone so tall, he surely seemed like a small helpless boy as he waited to be sent away in silence. Magnus wanted to reach out, but Alec was still acting wary around him, so he didn’t.

Isabelle smiled casually, her chin laid on her hands. “I invited him. Can you believe Alec has never had pie? That’s criminal.”

“We’re making him guess the stuffing,” Jace said and slid closer to Alec so Clary and Simon could fit beside him. “He’s better than Simon at it.”

The droid flinched, clearly affronted. “I’d be better if I could taste things. Although I could try identifying it by color pattern and texture. If I can download sufficient data, I could start cooking too. Clary, do you remember when you and your mother filled my memory with cake recipes for your eighth birthday?”

“Yes,” Clary said quietly. She stared at Alec for a while longer before taking the seat next to Jace. “Carrot cake.”

“With chocolate!” S1-M0N nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve always wanted to know how that tasted like. Clary has been eating non-stop since Alec put a gun on my face and-” He stopped and for a second Magnus wondered if he had broken. Unfortunately, not. S1-M0N turned to Alec with both hands up. “N-not that you’re the first stormtrooper who’s ever done that, r-right? And I bet you won’t be the last one! It’s all good.”

The cheerful tone didn’t help in the slightest. Alec was staring blankly at Clary, as if waiting for her to start shouting at him. It wouldn’t be the first time she did that, although lately she had resorted to staring at Alec angrily every time Jace or Isabelle were talking to him.

Clary definitely wasn’t Alec’s biggest fan.

And it seemed the animosity was mutual, if the vicious glare on Alec’s eyes could be believed. Which Magnus did.

“Probably not,” Magnus said with a nod. “Especially because we’re going on a mission sooner rather than later.”

That picked up everyone’s attention. Being a Master Jedi guaranteed Magnus access to the inner circles of the Downworlder Resistance, something that none of the others had. Raphael had taken one look at Alec and decided to make use of him, to what neither Luke nor Magnus agreed at first.

But then Meliorn arrived with new information from his agents and things changed. They had a plan now.

Jace arched an eyebrow. “Who’s ‘we’?”

“I should go,” Alec blurted out, already standing up. He was well trained not to pry into other people’s business and, as far as Magnus had noticed, he had no interest in doing so either way. 

“No, darling,” Magnus said quietly, not looking at Alec who froze in place. “This is about you too. It’s about all six of us.” He reclined against his chair and closed his eyes, ignoring the inquisitive looks Magnus knew he was receiving. “That’s all I can say for now.”

Isabelle crossed her arms against her chest. “And you expect us to just accept that and get back to feeding Alec pies?”

But Magnus just shrugged, not caring to give her an answer. He could feel the frustration coming from Jace, but that was nothing new. Ever since Magnus had taken Jace under his tutelage, on that fateful day Alicante was blown into pieces and Luke brought a bunch of scared children to the Resistance base, the nephilim had regarded him with some degree of annoyance that was typical of his race. That was why nephilims didn’t make good Jedis; they were too prone to arrogance. Even brilliant, strong users of the Force such as Jace. 

Not that Magnus would ever admit that Jace was especially talented under regular circumstances, mind you. The idea was to encourage humility in him after all.

“Wait.” Clary blinked and she seemed surprised. “Are we allowed in the meeting room this time?”

Magnus felt tempted to point out that regardless of previous authorization, they always had S1-M0N listen in important meetings anyway, so it would make no difference, but he restrained himself. “I would say you guys are the guests of honor, biscuit, but that wouldn’t be strictly true. That would apply only to Alexander.”

The reaction to that was somewhat unexpected. Alec seemed disturbed, but both Isabelle and Jace sat up straight, their entire posture showing off alert. 

Three weeks of knowing Alec had awakened something primal in those two, something that Magnus knew they felt for each other as well. Jace was very reserved in talking about his childhood, so all that Magnus knew of their time growing up came from Isabelle. 

Jace and she had been mostly raised together, as their families were close. Both the Lightwoods and the Herondales had been important families in Alicante’s government, as well as respected members of the planet’s high society. For a race that so rarely was in touch with the Force, Jace’s lineage had produced more than a few Jedis so it wasn’t a surprise when he showed promise at a young age. Isabelle had taken after her parents, as the oldest of the Lightwoods siblings, and had been well in her way to become Alicante’s youngest representative in the Clave.

Both had brilliant futures waiting for them, but war and destruction swiped it all away on the cruel day their Alicante was destroyed and their families, annihilated. The only nephilims left in the galaxy were the ones that weren’t on the planet and thankfully Luke and Jocelyn were out with the kids on that day. They couldn’t do more than watch from the cold, silent sky as their home was blown into pieces right in front of their eyes.

As horrible as that was, it also brought out a sense of unity among them. Isabelle and Jace adopted Clary in their little group as well and would fiercely defend her. The same was extended to S1-M0N and later on to Magnus.

It seemed the privilege of their love was now being offered to Alec as well. 

Magnus smiled to himself. “No need for those tense faces, children. It will become clear in time.”

“I hate it when you talk in riddles,” Jace said loudly, not for the first time.

It earned him a sweet smile from his former master. “That’s why I do it, Jacewan.” Magnus smirked as he noticed Alec looking between the two Jedis curiously. “That and because it makes me sound smarter.”

“Not a very difficult thing,” Clary said cheekily. It seemed the prospect of a mission had dissipated the cloud of animosity around her. 

Good, Magnus thought as he winked at her. For what there was to come, they would need to work as the perfect team if they wanted to make it out alive.

But looking at the faces now, Magnus wasn’t sure they were ready yet.

\---

The strategical meeting was held in the heart of the Resistance base, a big enough room to accommodate over a hundred people. There were at least fifteen screens showing different points of the galaxy and twice as many agents monitoring the dots and lines that supplied them with information. In the middle of the room, a circular holographic table stood as people gathered around it with stern expressions on their vastly different faces.

Alec swallowed hard as he entered the room behind Magnus. He could see Izzy and Jace standing at another point and both of them welcomed him with quiet smiles, which helped. Clary was right beside them with her annoying droid and although she didn’t smile at him, nothing in her expression made him feel unwelcome.

Or, at least, any more so than he was already feeling.

It felt like every pair - or trios - of eyes were on him. The room had been filled with voices talking in a rush, but the moment Alec stepped in, all conversation died. He had taken Izzy’s advice and dressed in black, as far away from the stormtrooper traditional white uniform as possible, but it didn’t seem to help all that much. 

In the midst of all that, Magnus cocked his head in Alec’s direction and whispered softly, “don’t worry, darling. They don’t bite and if they try, I’ll bite back.”

Alec nodded, focusing on the easiness of that voice. The certainty of it. Magnus’ presence was very calming on the way it irradiated confidence. When he was in the room, Alec felt like everything was under control.

Magnus only stopped when he got to the table, standing in front of one of the four panels on the table. People stepped out of his way as he walked, some of them bowing their heads, other staring at Alec with taciturn expressions, but none challenging Magnus. It was a sort of power different from the one the Force gave him, Alec figured. The Shadowhunter had it too. But unlike with him, people didn’t fly away from Magnus out of fear; it was respect that he commanded. 

If it was left for Alec to decide, he’d choose respect over fear every time.

Aside from Magnus, two other figures were in places of command around the table. One of them looked very young but for his dark eyes. He was talking to S1-M0N, and for a second he growled at the droid, revealing sharp fangs instead of teeth. The other had an ethereal quality to him that was complemented by the drawing of plants on his skin.

They were both beautiful, but equally as dangerous. Alec looked at Magnus and wondered if that was a requirement to sit at the Downworlder Resistance council. 

The room went back to its eruption of voices once Alec’s arrival lost its novelty. Magnus had turned to a lady that was sitting on his right side and Alec vaguely recognized her from Izzy’s pictures. Catarina Loss had pitch dark skin and kind eyes that were framed by her white hair. It didn’t make her look old, but she didn’t look young either.

It was overwhelming to see so many different shapes and forms in one single room. Alec had been used to the standardness of the stormtrooper’s quarters, where everyone wore the same mask and the same uniform. Anyone that stood out did so for a military reason, to show positions of command. It served a function and nothing else.

In there, standing out was a matter of identity.

The opposite door of the room swung open and two more figures walked in. This time, the silence that received them had no hostility at all. Everyone in the room regarded the figures with the deference a leader should receive.

Alec knew one of them and that was probably why he was so shocked. Senator Imogen was speaking, her voice commanding even in a soft tone. She concluded her thought efficiently as in every video Alec had ever seen, but none of the rumors he had heard about her prepared him to be in her presence.

She might’ve been the only person the Supreme Leader feared, if the veiled talk in the barracks could be trusted. And Alec could see why. Nephilim borned, the Senator had a harshness to her that left no room for doubt or weakness.

But the man beside her was equally, if not more, impressive. Alec didn’t need Magnus’ whisper to identify General Luke Garroway. If the Supreme Leader feared Senator Imogen, rumor had it he despised the General with a vengeance. It was probably true, because Alec wouldn’t have guessed that man was Luke if it wasn’t for context.

According to what he was told, Luke Garroway was a monster. He once was a nephilim warrior called Lucian Greymark, who fought side by side with the Supreme Leader to create a better world from the claws of the Jedis and the old Clave. But envy and greed lead him to betray the Circle and seek power of his own in the depths of the savage Lupine planet, where he was attacked and deformed for life.

Although it was true that the General had a ferocious look in his eyes, he wasn’t the monster Alec was lead to believe. He was a man, hardened by life and its perils, but the smile he offered to Clary when he saw her had none of the intrinsic malice Alec was expecting from him. There were scars on his brown skin, but they were no different or uglier than anyone else’s.

“He looks normal,” Alec heard himself whispering and realized he must’ve been more astonished than he thought. “He looks like… Like a man. Just a man.”

Magnus turned to him with a confused frown, but it dissolved in a kind smile when he understood what Alec was saying. “And he is. But a great, brave man. Sometimes it’s easier to vilify our enemies, to paint them as despicable monsters they are not.” Magnus looked at Luke and his cat-eyes shone with pride and admiration. “But what does that make of the one telling the lies?”

It took all the courage Alec had to say what he was thinking and even so he could barely emit any sound at all, “a coward.”

Nodding, Magnus offered him another smile. They hadn’t talk much, not since Alec had tried to escape, but every time they did, Magnus helped Alec clear away the stormtrooper mask. Just taking it off wasn’t enough, but day by day, the black lenses revealed themselves for what they were and the weight of the mask felt lighter on Alec’s shoulders.

“My fellow rebels,” Luke said, his voice cutting through the buzz, “it seems Meliorn has received news that regards us all.”

Meliorn, the ethereal one, opened his eyes when his name was called. “As all of you know, every time their army of stormtroopers shrink in size, a new hoard of children is taken from their home planets.” The way he spoke, precise and detached, was almost concealed by the sweetness of his tone. “However, in the light of the events that transpired a few weeks ago, I had some research done. My informants tell me that the Circle has changed tactics. Instead of just not recognizing the Resistance’s claims as they usually don’t, they decided to annihilate us and so end any opposition raising suspicion over them. The Circle will attack, and they will attack to kill.”

The news was met with mixed reactions. Most of the people present were already waiting for something of the sort, judging by their seriousness, but a few let their fear get the best of them. There were protest and calls for fleeing, but they weren’t quite as loud as the cry for a counterattack. 

Senator Imogen waited until the commotion died down. “If this is true, then the Resistance must strike at once.”

“I never lie,” Meliorn said calmly.

Luke raised a hand, his expression grim. “We do not have the strength to meet the Circle in open battle. As talented as our pilots are, they outnumber us five to one. We must continue our mission to find proof of their crimes. If the Clave can be convinced to dissipate the Circle, then Valentine will answer for his transgressions and no more lives will be lost.”

“We’ve been trying to do so for years,” a voice called among the more agitated ones. “No luck so far. We have to attack.”

“And we will,” the young looking one said, cutting through the uproar before it could take shape. “But not in a meaningless way. There’s no point in wasting lives in a desperate, blind strike.”

Magnus, who have been quiet until then, nodded. “Raphael and Luke are right. We need to get the evidence to convince the Clave once and for all. That is our only chance. Senator Imogen can present the case, but only if she has proof to back up our claims.”

Alec watched as the room looked up at the four men in expectation. He suddenly realized that was not a coincidence. Magnus had mentioned a previous meeting among them and the united front was a basic tactic to handle a crowd in times of fear. 

“And how will we do that?” Jace asked. By the looks he received, it wasn’t protocol for someone aside the leaders to speak without being asked to, but nothing on the Jedi’s expression indicated that he cared.

There was a feline-like smirk on Magnus’ lips as he answered, with something predatory about it. “We’ll infiltrate the Circle’s base. They attacked our home; let’s return the favor.”

The room erupted in voices once again, but this time it was louder. Many protested and called it a suicide mission. Alec looked around and he saw apprehension as well as fear. He wasn’t feeling much differently himself.

Magnus looked around with a serenity that didn’t belong in the room. “A small party will infiltrate the Circle’s base and steal as many files as possible. The goal is to gather enough information to build the case in front of the Clave. I shall go myself.”

Alec felt his heart race painfully inside his chest. No. Magnus couldn’t go, none of them could. They would be lucky if they died from defensive blasts and who knew what kind of horrible death would wait if they were captured.

But to his horror, Jace smirked. “Count me in.”

A protest died in Alec’s throat. _They couldn’t. No._

Clary’s face was pure determination as she laid both hands on the table. “We’ll need someone to hack into their system.” She looked at her droid, who nodded in agreement without any hesitation. “Simon and I are coming too.”

_Stop it. It’s suicide._

“Oh, well,” Isabelle sighed and pushed her braid away nonchalantly. “I guess you all will need a ride there. Wherever there is.”

By then, Alec stopped listening. He needed to alert them. He couldn’t let them fly to their deaths, or to something even worse. He had to say something, anything. It had been years since he was transferred from the Circle’s secret base, but he still remembered the canons, the guards. The screams.

Alec had been so caught up in his mind, he only realized the room was staring at him when Magnus gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Alexander, dear,” Magnus said kindly, “do you have any idea where the base is located right now? We know it changes from galaxy to galaxy every few years.”

A rush of relief waved over Alec. He could put a stop to that madness and he didn’t even have to betray the Circle in doing so. “No,” he said rushily. “I don’t know and there’s no way of knowing. I’m telling the truth.”

“I know you are, darling,” Magnus reassured him. “But do you remember it? How long have you lived there for?”

Alec didn’t understand why he was asking that, but speaking helped dissolve the fear. “Yes. I lived there for sixteen years before I was reassigned to the field.”

General Luke inhaled sharply from the other side of the table and the sound broke Alec’s eye contact with Magnus, bringing him back to the room. “You were sent to battles when you were sixteen?” he asked, his voice small for a man of his size.

Frowning at the surprised tone, Alec nodded. “Yes. We all are.” 

He didn’t understand the looks he was receiving, as if he had just say something terrible. If they were all going to look so dismayed, they might as well focus on the important piece of information. “I can’t take you to the base,” Alec repeated, just to be clearer.

Raphael seemed to be the first to get out of the stupor. “We have other means to find the base. That is not the point. What we need is someone who would know where the data is saved. Someone who can guide the strike party once they are inside.”

It was probably the ridiculousness of the question that broke through Alec’s paralyzing fear. He was too angry now. “I can, but I won’t. I won’t guide anyone to their death.”

‘Stormtrooper scum’ was the first thing Alec heard following his refusal, but many more followed. Magnus had moved to shield him at once and both Jace and Isabelle were looking around for sounds of any physical threats. 

But Alec didn’t care. He wouldn’t comply to their deaths. Not them, who were the closest thing he had ever had to friends.

Senator Imogen looked at him with sharp, analysing eyes. It was like she could see through him. “I was told you call yourself Alec now,” she said and the entire room stopped to listen. 

Alec nodded, holding her gaze. It seemed to earn her approval, because there was no disdain in her voice as she spoke again. “It is not for you to decide how people live and how they die. The mission will be difficult, but without it, many more will perish.”

“With all due respect, Ma’am,” Alec said quietly after a few seconds of consideration, “this mission won’t change a thing, but for the fact you’ll lose two jedis and your best pilot. Find another way.”

Before a new wave of insults came, General Luke shook his head. “There will be no mission until we locate the base anyway. Raphael, you and Magnus said you have a contact that could discover it.”

Raphael nodded. “But it will take her a few days.”

The general looked between Magnus and Alec. “Take that time to consider what was said here. Alec, if by then you still don’t want to help, I’ll understand. You never asked to be in this fight, we can’t expect you to sacrifice yourself for something you do not believe in.”

There it was, the same sense of reassurance Magnus commanded. That had to be some kind of trickery or some kind of madness. Every single one of them was mad. 

Alec nodded. “I’ll consider it,” he lied.

It seemed to satisfy the General. The rest of the meeting passed in a blur as Alec realized he had to get out of there as soon as possible. They were all insane if they thought they stood a chance against the Circle. 

He forced himself not to look at their faces as he decided his only option was to flee.

\---

“That was dramatic,” S1-M0N exclaimed once they were all out of the meeting room. He moved his mechanic arms vastly among his friends. “First Luke was all like,” he replayed Luke’s words from the beginning of the meeting. “And then Meliorn was like,” Meliorn’s voice sounded weird in the recording. “And then Magnus-”

Jace rolled his eyes. “We know. We were there.”

The droid continued without paying him any attention. “But my favorite part was when Alec was all like ‘sorry, Ma’am, but your plan sucks’.”

Isabelle giggled as Alec stopped walking to throw S1-M0N a murderous glare. “I never would’ve said that to a Senator.”

S1-M0N shook his head. “I can replay the exact words, let me just find-” He started pressed the buttons on his chest. “Here, found it!”

“That’s enough, Samuel.” Magnus waved him away with a flourish. He had decided to leave the others to their quarrels as they discussed the best way to contact their informer; he wanted no contact with her. “Jace, get your lightsaber.”

The way Jace’s eyes sparkled with excitement soothed Magnus’ tense shoulders a little. It was like the first time he had let him fight, when he was still a boy. “Seriously?”

Magnus smirked at him. “Seriously.”

“This is going to be fun,” Isabelle said and crossed her arm with Alec’s. “Have you ever seen a lightsaber fight?”

Alec seemed to consider the question. He had grown even quieter after promising Luke to consider participating in the mission, but thankfully none of the others mentioned that. Isabelle and Jace immediately pulled him into their conversation and even Clary seemed to be regarding him differently. 

“I’ve seen the Shadowhunter use his lightsaber once,” Alec said eventually.

Magnus couldn’t help but notice Alec’s choice of words. He didn’t want to know what Sebastian had used his lightsaber for, though he had a hunch. “You haven’t seen the real thing, then. Jace here still has much to learn, but he can put up a fight.”

Tutting, Jace turned his face to the side. “You’ll regret saying that.”

“I don’t think so,” Magnus said with a shrug. 

And just like that, the challenge was issued. Jace had the decency to wait until they reached the training arena underground, but other than that, he was on Magnus the second both of them had their weapons out. His green lightsaber cut through the air with a dry voom and it would have sliced the toughest of metals in any normal circumstances.

But Magnus merely took a step aside and let his former apprentice come at him, over and over again. He liked playing that cat and mouse game with Jace as he flipped his lightsaber handler in his hand, still turned off.

“Oh, come on!” Jace grunted. He was exceptionally gifted in fighting, probably the best Magnus had ever seen. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the apprentice had surpassed the master in that regard.

But Magnus was a generous man, so he could allow Jace that small victory. Some day, he might even recognize it.

Though that day hadn’t arrived yet. Magnus spun on his heels, deflecting another strike. “Tired of playing already? Don’t let your emotions guide your hand.”

Jace frowned, his smart eyes shining with understanding. Suddenly, all the annoyance had left him and he was standing straight. The green for his lightsaber reflected on his pale complexion, but that was as far as the weapon’s power influenced him.

Magnus smiled and pressed the button on his own lightsaber. He didn’t have to look to see the purple gleam to know why the atmosphere of the room had changed. The girls and S1-M0N had taken a seat to watch the fight and Alec stood up, arms crossed against his chest. Up until then, he had been silent, but the surprise on his face and the small gasp he emitted changed that.

Although it wasn’t just surprise that came from him. Magnus could feel the excitement in the room, and some of the apprehension too. Jace was doing a remarkable job at suppressing his emotions and that made it all the more easy to feel the ones coming from Alec.

He was afraid of the lightsabers, of what they could do. But mostly, he hated them.

Before Magnus could make sense of that, though, Jace attacked. It was all Magnus could do but to defend himself, now that Jace was in control of himself. Keeping up with him wasn’t the problem, but the lack of pattern made every move unpredictable.

For the briefest of seconds Magnus thought he might lose, but then a sweet voice sounded in the room and disrupted Jace’s furious attacks into an excited smile. “Izzy! Jace!”

“Max!” both of them answered at once, turning to the door to greet the little boy that ran inside in excited leaps. 

Isabelle got to him first, hugging him tight. “I missed you so much! Look at how much you’ve grown!”

“I’ve only been gone for a few weeks,” Max complained, squirming away from her embrace, and moving to hug Jace too. He grinned at Clary and S1-M0N. “I found the new parts you guys needed! Aunt Jocelyn took the other kids back to their rooms, but I escaped.”

Magnus approached Alec as the little boy handed Clary the parts he was talking about. The stormtrooper had been watching the scene from afar, his expression impossible to read.

As if he could feel he was being observed, Max blinked and turned to them. “Hi,” he said in a small voice. Max had always been more reserved around Magnus, but the Jedi had a feeling the shyness wasn’t directed to him this time.

Alec blinked. “Hey.”

Laying a hand on her baby brother’s shoulder, Isabelle smiled. “Max, that is Alec. Alec, this is my brother Max.”

The appropriate greeting was half-way through Alec’s lips, but Max beat him to it. “Is it true you’re a stormtrooper?”

Isabelle frowned at once. “Max, you can’t just ask that.”

“I just want to know,” the boy protested. “Everyone is talking about it, but he doesn’t look like a stormtrooper.”

“I understand Max’s confusion,” S1-M0N said diplomatically. “Alec is too tall. On average, stormtroopers are-”

Alec rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am. Or I was. But now I’m just Alec.”

Max nodded, as if he was taking mental notes. “Jace says they can’t aim to save their lives. Is that true?”

The innocent expression on Jace’s face was just half as funny as the affronted look Alec spurted. “Well, Jace has no idea what he’s talking about,” he said, looking at the Jedi as if he dared him to contradict him.

Which, naturally, Jace did gladly. “How about you prove me wrong, hm?” He walked to the armory and grabbed a standard blaster, throwing it mindlessly to Alec. “See that target at the end of the room? Shoot it.”

Alec didn’t even flinch, catching the blaster without moving his eyes away from Jace. As serious as his expression was, though, Magnus could see a hint of amusement in the hazel eyes. That should be good.

And it was. Alec took place at the end of the shooting range and aimed, pressing the trigger with no hesitation whatsoever. The blast traveled the room with an acute squeak and exploded against the target, hitting the very center of it. 

It was, in Magnus’ personal and expert opinion, very hot. Especially when Alec arched his eyebrows and smirked at Jace, blaster still ready to use on his hands.

Jace sneered, unmoved. “Head on is easy. Try the ones on the sides.”

Alec did and, once again, there were two perfect shots. 

This time, Jace smirked too and soon it became a game. He’d point at objects around the training facility and Alec would hit each of every one of them. Isabelle and S1-M0N joined in and even Clary made a few suggestions. 

Max blinked in admiration when Alec shot two flying weights that danced under Magnus’ control around the room. “That is so cool!” the boy exclaimed. “I’m going to tell all my friends. He can shoot as well as anyone that has a precision rune.”

Alec looked up from the blaster and stopped calibrating it for just a moment. “Precision rune?”

“It’s a mark of expertise,” Isabelle said and pointed the drawings on her skin. “On Alicante, when you mastered a skill, you’d have runes drawn on you for everyone to know.” She gently took the blaster from Alec’s hands and fired a shot on one of the targets. On her arm, one of the marks seemed to burn. “They lit up when we use each of the skills.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Such a nephilim thing.”

“Yeah,” S1-M0N agreed, though his tone was considerably less mocking and way more amazed.

“So that is what those things are.” Alec seemed to understand much more than just the explanation. “In the barracks, a few of the others tried drawing them on their skin, because both the Shadowhunter and General Aldertree have them. But they never glowed.”

Max sneered and produced a sharp silver object from his clothes. “You need one of these to draw real runes. It’s called a stele.” He jumped up to his feet and approached Alec, grabbing his hand and pulling it down. “Here, I’ll show you.”

Alec looked over to Isabelle and Jace, but they didn’t seem alarmed as Max began drawing the precision rune on his hand. 

“Don’t worry,” Magnus said. “It’ll vanish in a couple of minutes. The runes only stick to nephilim skin. Once Max finishes it, it’ll turn black and then start to fade.”

Everyone gathered around as Max worked on the rune. It wasn’t a complicated design, but he clearly wanted to make it right, so he took his time.

“Done,” the boy said, proud of his work. 

They all admired the rune and Alec even had a shy smile on his lips. Magnus barely had eyes for the symbol, not when he could see Alec like that, so open and vulnerable, looking truly touched even after the hard time during the meeting.

But suddenly Alec’s smile turned into a frown and everyone else gasped. 

Magnus only had to look down to learn why. The rune hadn’t turn black on Alec’s pale hand, nor was it starting to fade.

It was glowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next on: wrong family denominations + the bitch is back + the queen of the world, Maia
> 
> Nobody has a wife as amazing as mine, because nobody is as amazing as [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). Thank you for betaing and for being you, babe <3
> 
> Also, fuck Sebastian.
> 
> I can be found (and willing) for comments/asks/yelling on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Tracking #asfj on Twitter if you feel like live-tweeting.
> 
> Ketz


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello <3
> 
> Who's ready for some queen Maia and some malec in the stars? <3

Isabelle frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. “I thought there was a lack of help in the kitchens,” she stated pointedly, almost as a challenge. 

Raphael seemed at a completely loss of words and that was a first in Alec’s experience. He was wearing an apron over his smart clothing, as he often did when he took over the cooking duties. On anyone else, it would look a bit ridiculous, but Raphael pulled it off. It was probably the red stains on it that looked a lot like blood, though Alec knew came from blood tangerine juice.

It never ceased to amaze Alec how the leaders of the Resistance worked closely with everyone else. Magnus was in charge of training and recruiting. Meliorn was the one gathering information throughout the galaxy. Luke was the face of the Resistance, the one that pushed their cause forward at Clave meetings. And Raphael took over running the base internally, which went from security duty to cooking meals.

He obviously liked the later better. Clearing his throat, Raphael put down the knife he had been holding. “And we are. That’s why I’ve accepted the stormtrooper’s help. You’re a pilot, you should be… piloting.”

The argument didn’t seem to convince Isabelle, but then again, nothing would. They were still waiting for Magnus’ contact to send them a message and, in the meantime, Alec wanted to be useful. When Raphael said he could use an extra pair of hands in the kitchen, Alec immediately volunteered. He had never worked with food before, but he found out cutting and boiling things relaxed him. Even Raphael’s sharp orders and the stress of feeding the entire base was a welcome change from his otherwise dull routine.

Besides, it helped him not think about the fact that he was freaking nephilim born.

Now, Isabelle wanted to help too. She had been exceedingly affectionate since they found out about Alec’s origins, calling him ‘cousin’ and pointing out every little thing Alec did that was nephilim-like. Many of those were rolling his eyes at her. 

“I think Raphael and I are more than enough, Iz,” Alec said gently. He had grown to care for her way more than previously anticipated, but truth be told, her constant presence was getting a little overwhelming. Magnus had explained to him that Isabelle missed her parents fiercely and her friends too. Finding out there was another nephilim alive seemed to sparkle that flame inside of her once more, it seemed to ignite her need for family proximity even if all they shared was a place of birth.

It didn’t help that they had collectively decided to keep it a secret either. Alec had asked if protocol didn’t dictate they should inform at least General Luke, but Magnus acted offended enough that he would dismiss his authority that Alec had shut up and agreed not to tell anyone. As if he had anyone to tell anyway.

But keeping it a secret came at the cost of Isabelle’s attention, Jace’s intense stares and Clary’s forced friendship. All three of them seemed to have decided to welcome Alec into their culture, regardless if he wanted in or not.

Thankfully, S1-M0N stopped reciting books about Alicante’s history after Alec informed him very seriously that he would shoot him. Repeatedly and from a short distance.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes at both of them. She was too smart not to know what that was really about. “Send for me when you’re preparing dessert,” she said eventually, bargaining herself a way out that didn’t mean admitting defeat. “I want to try a new recipe from Alderaan I hear is amazing.”

When the door closed behind her, both Alec and Raphael sighed in relief. Neither one of them said anything as they set off to work. It was better that way; Alec had had enough talking for a lifetime. Working in silence helped him focus on his tasks and nothing else.

Because nothing else made sense. He couldn’t be nephilim born, not really. Only the heads of the Circle were from Alicante. That was their right, as both warriors and protectors of the peace. Alec was nobody, just a stormtrooper that knew how to aim.

He looked at the fingerless glove Jace gave him to hide the precision rune. Max had wanted to draw more on him, but they had forbidden him. There had to be some kind of mistake. Alec was nothing like the Shadowhunter or General Aldertree. And he wasn’t anything like Jace or Izzy either.

“Careful not to cut yourself,” Raphael said drily. 

Alec shook his head, dismissing the warning. “I never do.”

Humming in indifference, Raphael turned his attention to the stew he was preparing. Alec knew from Magnus’ stories that they had grown up together in Dantooine, where Magnus was taught the mysteries of the Force. Raphael had been devastated when he learned he wasn’t Force-sensitive, but it didn’t stop him from adoring it either way.

That was another thing that Alec was having a hard time to swallow. He had grown up fearing the very last user of the Force, the Shadowhunter, and hating the lazy Jedis and their trickery. The galaxy was better off without them, right?

Then why did he cared for Magnus and Jace? They both had used the Force against him, something the Shadowhunter never did. That was mostly due to the fact Alec had never drawn his attention, but still… 

“Raphael,” Alec called quietly. His head was starting to hurt with so many doubts and it was annoying him. “Why did you join the resistance?”

The question seemed to caught the other unprepared, but not surprised. Raphael tasted the stew calmly and added more pepper. “To kill the ones that killed my family,” he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “I stayed to help other families.”

Alec nodded and dropped the potatoes he had been slicing into the stew. “Did the Circle kill them?”

“Yes. People wearing that same mask in your room shot my brothers and sisters. My mother. I only survived because Magnus shoved me into the pod he and his master used to escape. I hated him for years for that.”

“I’m sorry,” Alec said, because it was true. 

But Raphael shook his head. “You weren’t there. You were just a brat when that happened. Are you sorry the Circle exploded Alicante and your friends’ parents with it too? That happened on the same day.”

Alec swallowed hard, but it didn’t stop him from facing Raphael straight on. “I am.”

That made Raphael snort. There was a funny sparkle on his eyes as Raphael regarded Alec carefully. It was almost feral. “I see what Magnus finds so interesting on you. You’re just as stupid as he is. If there was any good in Alicante, it was floating far away when the planet exploded. The children might be better than their parents, but Maryse and Robert Lightwood were corrupted members of the Clave and they did nothing as Valentine rose the Circle against anyone that he didn’t consider pure enough. Senator Herondale is Jace’s grandmother, did you know that? She certainly echoed Valentine’s ideas, even defended him in front of the Clave, when he wasn’t much older than you. It was only after he blew her son and his wife to pieces that she changed her mind.”

It was too much to make sense of, but Raphael wasn’t done yet. “Did you know that half of the nephilim families supported the Circle when it first appeared? Even our esteemed Luke and his wife. Half of them were on board with his ideas until Valentine showed his true colors and started killing people. If you want to feel bad about something, start with those whom the nephilim despised. You are one of them, after all. If Magnus hadn’t stolen you, do you think Izzy would think twice before cutting your neck open?”

All Alec had to offer him as an answer was silence. Raphael wasn’t wrong about Isabelle, he probably wasn’t wrong about any of that either. It didn’t put his mind at ease, but Alec had learned he preferred to know the truth, however ugly it was. There were too many lies around him so, at the very least, he could appreciate Raphael’s honesty.

“Is something burning,” a voice called from the door, “or is it just Raphael’s usual bitterness I smell?” 

Both Raphael and Alec turned and found Magnus smiling at them, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. “Can I borrow Alexander for a second?”

Raphael rolled his eyes and gestured for Alec to go with a movement of his chin. Alec was out of the kitchen and following Magnus in the corridor in less than five seconds. “Is there a problem?”

Magnus tilted his head to the side. “Yes. One ought to think the kitchen would be warm enough to force you to relieve yourself of one of those layers, but alas, it isn’t so. Is that a jacket, Alexander? Who is providing you with all that unnecessary covering?”

“Max gave that one to me. He stole it from Jace.” Alec had also learned that it was better to treat Magnus’ jokes as if they were real questions.

“That little bugger.” Magnus shook his head dramatically. “I thought he was on my side. Anyway, don’t let Raphael bum you out, darling. He has some lingering anger issues to resolve.”

Alec wasn’t surprised Magnus had been listening in. “But was what he said true? You all keep saying how bad the Circle is, but if the people from Alicante backed it up, doesn’t that make them bad as well?”

The Jedi stopped and sighed, shaking his head slightly. “Things are rarely that black and white, my darling. It is true that the Circle had the support of the people from Alicante and many of the important families helped them, or, in the very least, didn’t interfere. But among them there was people like Luke and Jocelyn. People who realized their mistake and fought to correct them.”

“What about Izzy and Max’s parents? Or Jace’s?” Alec couldn’t think of a whole planet; it was too big. He needed to narrow it down.

Magnus pressed his lips together, his face an unreadable mask. “Jace’s parents were active members of the Circle, but they deflected when Valentine started to target the Jedi Order. They gave their lives saving my Master and I when he attacked us. All I could do in return was to train their son.” He stopped for a second, his expression turning sterner. “As for Maryse and Robert Lightwood… Not everyone mourn their deaths.”

Alec nodded, his fingers fidgeting with the rem of the gloves. He knew he had to forget all he had learned in the stormtrooper academy, but it was hard. For now, he focused on what mattered. “So Izzy, Jace, Max… They are alive because of sheer luck.”

“Maybe,” Magnus considered with a sharp nod. “Luke told me that after Valentine took the Circle away from Alicante, twenty one years ago, things went back to normal. Nothing really bad had happened since and after almost a decade of relative peace, they thought there was nothing else to fear. The Lightwoods and the Herondales would often leave their children with Jocelyn for her to look after and, on that day, she had convinced Luke to take them to an excursion out of the planet.”

Sighing again, Magnus stared at nowhere in particular. “After that, they ran away. Luke contacted Imogen and was able to create the Resistance with her help. Meliorn came next and the Resistance grew in strength. They were patrolling Tatooine when they found me.” He shook his head and closed his eyes. For a second, Alec felt the need to comfort him, but it passed as soon as the cat-eyes were back on him, as strong as ever. “Ragnor had gotten badly hurt during the attack and I had managed to keep us hidden for a couple of months, but he was dying. If Luke hadn’t found us and brought us to Catarina… Anyway, darling, what you call luck, I call the Force.”

Of course he did. Alec frowned and leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. “Are you saying the Force did all of this? The Force made the Supre- made Valentine kill thousands of people? The Force had Izzy’s and Jace’s parents killed? When exactly did the Force decide to make me what I am?”

He didn’t mean to sound as angry as he did, but the harshness of his voice didn’t seem to affect Magnus. The Jedi played with the rings on his fingers, considering the questions. “Nobody knows the ways of the Force. Believe me, Alexander, when I was training, I would ask the same things. I don’t know if the Force willed the Circle into form, but I like to think it had a hand in saving our friends. Those months Ragnor and I spent in the desert… We didn’t survive it by ourselves, my darling. Nobody would. Is it coincidence that Luke and Jocelyn took the children out that day? Is it luck that Catarina was visiting another constellation when the Circle decimated our medical base? Was it the Force that put you to guard my cell? How could we possibly answer those questions?”

Alec didn’t know. He didn’t think wondering about philosophy would help much either. Whatever had lead the events to pass wasn’t important. What mattered was where to go from that.

“If I truly am a nephilim,” Alec said tentatively, “then how did I end up in the stormtrooper academy? Who are… Who were my parents?”

The sadness was written all over Magnus as he looked back at Alec, from his expressive cat-eyes to his dropped shoulders. “I don’t know,” he admitted, sounding apologetic. “Some families went with Valentine when he left and there are rumors that Alicante was the first planet he’s stolen kids from. Kids from orphanages, from where people wouldn’t miss them. Maybe that’s where you are from.”

It made sense and that was more than Alec could ask for. So maybe he didn’t lose a family; he probably never had one. Alec wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Are you alright, darling?” Magnus asked, worry coloring his face. Only then Alec noticed he had been growing out a stubble. It suited him.

“I’ll be fine,” Alec dismissed the question with a movement of his head. “It’s just… It’s a lot.”

Magnus pouted, considering his words and cocking his head to the side. “Do you know what helps me focus when my mind is all over the place?”

Alec arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure it’s something very Jedi-ish, like meditation or feeling the Force pulse through your veins.”

“I know something that can pulse through you.” Magnus winked at him and smirked when that didn’t change an inch of Alec’s unimpressed face. “No, Alexander. I like to slice stuff up with my lightsaber. But I’m pretty sure a blaster could do just as much damage.”

The grin that took over Alec’s lips was probably the first one there in months. Now, shooting stuff was something easy for him to understand. “Okay.”

Magnus smiled right back. “Okay.”

\---

“I’ll do it,” Alec declared solemnly, without a trace of doubt in his voice.  
Magnus smirked from where he was standing. When Luke called all of them to his personal office, he wasn’t sure what Alec’s answer would be. They had a great time blowing things up the day before and Magnus could still hear Alec’s laugh if he concentrated enough, but when Alec left to his room, Magnus had no idea what was happening inside his mind.

Somewhere in the middle of that confusion, Alec had found a cause to fight for. It might not be the Resistance, or the Light. He didn’t seem to care about such great things, and Magnus didn’t blame him. For someone who spent twenty-one years of his life following blind rules, it was a step too big to take in just a couple of weeks. 

Whatever motivated Alec to decide, Magnus was glad for it.

Luke seemed to agree, judging by his kind smile. “Thank you, Alec. It means a lot.”

All around the room, people were nodding. Isabelle seemed a second away from jumping on Alec and Magnus had caught the small “yes” Jace didn’t suppress. Clary and S1-M0N had exchanged small smiles of their own, or they would if the droid could smile.

Meliorn just stared at them with his usual intriguing neutrality, but Raphael just looked plain bored.

“But if we’re doing this,” Alec said, crossing his arms behind his back and facing Luke straight in the eye, “then we’re not taking chances. The Shadowhunter is stationed there and he’ll kill first and then ask questions. Anyone he spares will wish he hadn’t.” He looked around the room and his hazel eyes darkened. “I am not guiding any of you to your deaths, so we all better make sure we survive this.”

Jace was barely able to hide a chuckle into a cough and Isabelle was smirking when he finished, neither of them looking at all surprised at Alec’s tone. Raphael threw Magnus an exasperated look and the Jedi didn’t need the Force to know what he was thinking.

_Congrats, you got yourself another idiot, just like you._

“Fair enough.” Luke nodded and leaned over his desk, looking at everyone present in the eyes as he spoke. “The mission is simple. You six will infiltrate the Circle’s base of operations. Your objective is to gather as much evidence of crimes as possible and escape. Izzy will take you there. Magnus and Jace, you’ll get them in and protect them. Alec, you’ll guide them once you’re in. Clary and Simon will hack into their system. This is a dangerous mission,” he stopped for a second when his eyes met his step-daughter’s, but continued nonetheless, “but if you are successful, we’ll be able to take down the Circle once and for all.”

Isabelle pushed her lips together. “Alright, but where is the base? Did we find that out?”

S1-M0N jumped on his feet. “Oh, we did, actually!” He walked to Luke’s side and typed on the computer, revealing a hologram of an encrypted message. “I’ve been going through all the communication we’ve sent and received, just like Luke asked, looking for anything unusual, and this showed up. Luke was the first to know.” S1-M0N stopped and tilted his head to the side. “Well, not the first one because that would be me. But second. Along with Magnus and Raphael and Meliorn, since they were all in the room when I told Luke. So anywhere between the second to the fifth person.”

“Thank you, Simon.” Luke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Can you decrypt it?”

“Well…”

Luke frowned. “You said you knew that code.”

S1-M0N looked down, almost ashamed. “Well, when I said that I knew the code, I meant that I knew it was a code. I can break it, I just need a couple more hours. Or days. No more than a week.”

“We don’t have a week, Simon!” Jace roared. “The Circle will be on our asses any minute.”

Magnus interrupted the discussion with a flourish of his hand. “Interesting choice of words, Jacewan. I can think of a particular scenario in which I wouldn’t mind having a Circle-member on my ass,” he winked at Alec, who just rolled his eyes. “But anyway, leave poor Sherman alone. He found the message. Raphael and I can break the code.”

That, obviously, piqued Meliorn’s attention. “Oh, can you?”

“Yes. We’ve worked with our informant before.” Magnus ignored the insinuation on the other’s voice and grabbed a pencil. He vaguely remembered the logic behind the code, though the last time he had to use it was a long time ago. 

But Meliorn wasn’t done, not by a long shot, judging by the knowing smirk on his lips. “Really? How closely did you work with her before, Magnus?” 

“Too close,” Raphael answered for him and corrected Magnus’ translation of the message. His tone stopped Meliorn from prying any further, but Magnus wasn’t worried about that anymore. Not when he noticed the way Alec had frowned, intrigued by the exchange.

Of course Alec would pick up on that and not on Magnus’ flirting. Brilliant.

Sighing for the third time, Magnus focused on decodifying the message. They had no time for Meliorn’s little games. Raphael and he worked in silence, knowing all pair of eyes were on them. The code wasn’t difficult once you knew the keywords, but finding them meant remembering a time in Magnus’ life he would rather forget.

Raphael slammed the pencil down the table. “Done. She’ll meet them at the Hunter’s Moon, tomorrow night.”

Both Isabelle and Clary smiled, but Jace’s enthusiasm was clearly subdued by the news. “Shit,” he cursed quietly and Alec looked at him curiously.

“What’s the Hunter’s Moon?” he asked, looking around for some clue.

“It’s a bar,” Isabelle answered before anyone could. “A tavern of sorts. Everyone is welcome there, as long as they leave politics behind. We’re friends with the owner.”

Jace muttered something too low for Alec to understand, but Magnus did. He smirked at his former apprentice innocently and then turned to Alec. “Well, some of us are. You’ll love it there, darling. It’s loud, full of people, and it smells like alcohol all the time.”

Judging by Alec’s expression the description was more likely to give him nightmares, but Magnus just kept on smiling. Hunter’s Moon was one of his favorite places in the galaxy. The mission was already proving itself successful, even if the start of it wasn’t completely to his liking.

Luke read the translation one more time. He didn’t seem very pleased. “Alright. Everyone get ready, you’ll leave immediately. I want you there before our informant arrives. The owner of the Hunter’s Moon may be our ally, but the same can’t be said by everyone else in there. Go and make sure there is no trap here.”

“Smart,” Magnus agreed with a short nod.

Alec arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you guys trust that informant? Who is she?”

Magnus shrugged, though he didn’t feel nearly as confident as he made it seem. “Only a fool would totally trust Camille. Now she says she’s on our side, but nobody knows whose side she’ll be on the morning. And as for who she is, darling… Well, she’s my ex-girlfriend.”

\---

Isabelle landed the U-wing at the edge of the forest, deep enough to hide the ship but still close to the city. The trip had gone smoothly with S1-M0N blabbering about nothing in particular and Jace making pointed comments. 

Clary spent most of the time drawing and talking quietly to Magnus. She had been designing a new version of S1-M0N, one that got rid of the glasses in front of his visors to make a cleaner look and Magnus had been trying to convince her to give him fangs. 

“Tell me it wouldn’t look fabulous, Biscuit!” he dared with a wink. 

Shaking her head, Clary chuckled a little. She closed her sketchbook and stored it in her bag, picking up a blaster in its place. “No fangs. But if I made his chest wider, I could put a new processor in there.”

“Yeah.” Jace sneered as he grabbed his jacket. “A buff droid. That’s all we need. Why don’t you make him super tall too?”

 

Meliorn, who had approached them right before the launching and asked Isabelle, and only her, for a ride, arched an unimpressed eyebrow. “There’s no need for him to call even more attention to himself. Although that would make him an easier target.” He added that last thought as if it was something good.

Isabelle adjusted her bracelet and put the blaster on her belt, covering it with her blouse. “We already have Alec for tall and handsome. Simon can stay our regular cute droid.” 

Alec blinked and closed the book he had been reading. Luke had lent it to him when he learned that Alec wanted to know more about the galaxy history and Alec hadn’t been able to put it down. It was very different from what he had been taught in the Stormtrooper Academy, but it also served as a distraction from thinking they were going to meet Magnus’ untrustworthy ex-girlfr- informant. His untrustworthy informant. “He’s sufficiently annoying as he is.”

“I think he’s finally warming up to me,” S1-M0N said cheerfully. He was the last one to leave the ship, so he could lock it up. The Hunter’s Moon was located in the middle of the city and they would have to continue their trip on foot if they didn’t want to call any unrequired attention to themselves.

Magnus smiled fondly at the droid and shook his head in pity. “Oh, darling.” He said nothing else as he guided them through the gates and into the city. Clary and Isabelle went to see the open night market while Magnus dragged Simon to try on some hats. They looked so ridiculous, Alec couldn’t surpass a laugh. 

“How does it feel to be out in the real world?” Jace asked and handed Alec some weird greenish drink he and Meliorn had gotten from one of the tents.

Alec examined the liquid before trying it. It was surprisingly sweet, but with a punch to it at the end that burned through Alec’s throat. “Weird, but in a good way. I never did this.”

“Drink?” Meliorn looked at him calmly.

“Walk around. Whenever I was sent to a city, it was to patrol or find a target.” Alec took another sip. It tasted better the second time. “No wandering around. Especially not without an uniform.”

Meliorn blinked. “What a sad creature you are.”

Jace just rolled his eyes and pushed Alec away. “Ignore him. This will be a good night, for you and me both, buddy. There.” He stopped in front of a big building, standing out from the sea of tents. It had huge windows and a sign on the door of a wolf howling to a moon. “The Hunter’s Moon.”

Alec wasn’t very impressed. “Okay. Should we go in?”

“Yeah. Maybe we should wait for the rest to-” Jace began, trying too hard to look nonchalant. Alec just rolled his eyes and opened the door, going inside on his own. “Hey, Alec! Wait up!” 

The interior of the bar was a little more impressive, but that was only because of the people in there. All of them managed to seem simultaneously menacing and dirty, with just a foot outside the law. There were all shapes and forms, and more colors than Alec thought it was possible. Most of them were staring at them with wariness.

They made Alec miss his blaster. 

“Hey!” a voice called from the bar. There was a young woman there, with thick black hair that floated like a cloud above her head and shiny pieces of metal adorning her slender frame. She was beautiful, in a scary way. “Do you have a death wish or something? I think I told you to never come back here again.”

It took Alec a moment to realize she was talking to Jace. The Jedi shrugged. “I’m just showing my friend around.”

“You and your friend can get the hell out of here.” She wasn’t kidding. Alec could swear he saw a shimmer of green touch her eyes. It reminded him of Jace’s lightsaber. 

The door opened behind them and a hand landed on Alec’s shoulder. “Maia, my dear,” Magnus said cheerfully. “I love what you’ve done with the place. That’s new, isn’t it?” He pointed at the wall, where a hundred names were written. 

Something on the woman’s expression softened when she saw Magnus. “Yes. That’s the names of troublemakers I kicked off the planet.” She looked straight of Jace. “There’s room for more.”

Jace smirked at her. “If you want something to remember me by, I sure I can give you more than my name.”

“What Jace meant to say,” Magnus interfered with a sharp flourish, “is that we’d like three glasses of Corellian nectar, please.” He crossed the room and leaned over the counter, whispering something into Maia’s ear. 

Her expression quickly changed to understanding. “Alright, then. But you keep the blondie out of trouble.”

Magnus nodded with a brilliant smile on his lips and gestured for the boys to follow him to an empty table. The people in the room seemed to have lost interest when they realized Maia would not be kicking anyone out, so the bar had go back to its noisy ambiance again. 

Alec sat down and ignored it as Magnus scowled Jace with a few sharp words. It didn’t take long for Clary and Simon to show up and Isabelle followed them, though she seemed more interest in laughing at Meliorn’s jokes than in drinking with them.

The greenish liquid, which turned out to be the Corellian nectar Magnus had ordered, was almost over when Maia brought them another round. She smiled at Magnus, telling him it was on the house.

“Not yours, though,” Maia added, glaring at Jace. The Jedi didn’t seem surprised at all. Alec was wondering what the story there was when Maia turned to him. “You’re new.”

“I, hm.” Alec nodded and offered her his hand to shake. “I’m Alec.”

She took it. Her handshake was as fierce as she was. “Maia. Sorry for the rough welcome there. You seem okay.”

Alec wasn’t sure that was a compliment so he just took a sip of the drink. The one Maia served was much stronger than the one he had had in the streets and it make Alec’s entire body shiver.

Maia chuckled lightly. “Careful there, big guy,” she winked at him and put three keys on the table. “Your rooms. May the Force be with you.”

The night went smoothly after that. The girls were the first to go to their rooms, though Meliorn didn’t take long to follow. Jace had taken over the conversation, telling Alec all the stories from where he was a kid and many more from his training with Magnus. The two boys were fighting yawns when Magnus declared they should all go to their rooms.

Alec slouched on his bed, grabbing the book. He was determined to read himself to sleep, but his vision was too blurry to make out the words, so instead he observed his roommates. 

Jace took over the mirror, to Magnus’ complete dismay. He clearly had been waiting to get rid of his makeup but Jace was hogging the bathroom with no signs of stopping any time soon. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Magnus exclaimed and clapped once. “If you can’t fix your hair in all that time, you are never going to.”

For a second, Jace seemed ready to argue, but then he looked from Alec to Magnus and just ran his fingers through his hair. “Whatever. I’m looking good.” He grabbed his jacket and slipped through the door. “Have fun, boys.”

Magnus sneered and jumped to the bathroom. He was still humming cheerfully when he walked out and met Alec’s eyes with his own. He smiled, or Alec thought so. Things were a bit hazy. “What?” the Jedi asked.

Alec put his book aside. “Where did Jace go?”

“He went to see Clary.” Magnus sat on his own bed and stared at the empty bed Jace had never even touched.

Clary? Alec blinked, not really getting it. They would see Clary in the morning. He sat up on the bed and looked at Magnus. He looked really good without the makeup, only less guarded. It felt like a secret. “But why?”

Magnus arched his eyebrows at him. “Why would he go to Clary’s bedroom in the middle of the night before our most important mission yet, Alexander?”

It was a test. Alec understood that much, but he had no idea what Magnus wanted as an answer. Maybe if he had more of the nectar it would make sense. Alec suddenly realized how dry his mouth was. “Because… He wants to talk?” 

“So innocent.” Magnus shook his head, but he was smiling, so Alec smiled too. He liked Magnus’ smile. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Izzy went with Meliorn to his room. And Sigmund can be turned off if the situation calls for it.”

But why would- Oh. The realization was probably clear on Alec’s face, because Magnus snorted loudly. Alec wasn’t ashamed though; he was scandalized. “We’re on a mission! It is not the time for… For that!”

Magnus cocked his head to the side. “We’re at war, Alexander. There is never time for love, but if we don’t make time for it then is this fight even worth fighting?”

Alec was not impressed. “I thought Jedis didn’t waste time on love.”

“Touché.” Magnus chuckled. “That’s what my Master would tell me, but I was never the best of students. I loved and was loved many times before. I guess the Order would see it as a weakness, but I personally see it as a strength.” He blinked when Alec just hummed quietly. A couple a seconds passed before Magnus spoke again. “Alexander… Have you ever been in love?”

That caught Alec completely off-guard. “L-love?” Suddenly, it was very hard to look straight at Magnus. Alec could feel his cheeks getting warm. “I… N-no, I don’t… I don’t think so. It wasn’t… Nobody talked about it. A-and I never… No girl ever… I-I was never interested.”

Magnus nodded calmly. He didn’t flinch, nor did his expression change. “What about boys?”

Alec stared at him in terrified silence. “B-boys?”

“Yes, boys.” Magnus’ voice was surprisingly gentle. “I find both boys and girls very enticing. Our dear Raphael, for example, doesn’t share that opinion at all. He loves too, but he doesn’t care for the physical part of it. There are many kinds of love in the galaxy, my darling. All of them are true.”

Looking down, Alec felt his whole face catch on fire. “I guess I… There were some boys, but I-I never… I’ve never done anything. I just liked looking at them when we didn’t have to wear our masks.”

“That’s alright. If you don’t like doing those kind of things, then-”

“N-no, I do!” Alec blurted out, barely realizing how urgent he sounded. “I just never had anyone to… D-do those things with.”

Magnus blinked, but then he nodded and smiled. “Don’t let the war stop you from living, my darling. You’ll find a boy you want to do those things with and when you do, I hope he deserves you, Alexander.” He yawned and laid on the bed. “Shall we go to sleep now? We have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yeah. The room is kind of spinning.” Alec nodded and laid down as well. “Good night. And, hm, thank you.”

“I’m always here for you, my darling.” Magnus smiled fondly and moved his hand, turning off the lights. A cantil that Alec knew had water in landed on his side table. “Drink this before you close your eyes. If you’re still thirsty, then I can be here for you literally too. The bed isn’t very big, but if we push them together-”

“Good night, Magnus.”

Alec fell asleep with a shadow of a smile on his lips, at the sound of Magnus’ laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec is a precious bean and Magnus is learning he has to be protected at all costs. By being given a blaster, so he can protect himself.
> 
> Once again, thank you, [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). You rock my world, because you're an actual angel/satan.
> 
> I can be found (and willing) for comments/asks/yelling on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Tracking #asfj on Twitter if you feel like live-tweeting.
> 
> Ketz


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey
> 
> Staaar Waaaars, nothing but Star Waaaaaars <3
> 
> But before we start, an announcement: I'll be on a trip next Saturday, so there won't be any updates until Saturday the 15th.  
> Sorry guys, but believe me. I can only write one chapter in next couple of weeks, and I've chosen the kindest cliffhanger the hang on the longest ;) I'm merciful like that.
> 
> Now, let's dive into the drama!

When Magnus woke up, he found both Jace’s and Alec’s bed empty. It wasn’t a surprise that his former apprentice hadn’t been in the bedroom, since Magnus wasn’t expecting him to pass on his probably last chance to cuddle with Clary.

Magnus sighed. He had no illusion about their mission. The chances of them being successful were low, very low. The chances of them making it out alive were even lower.

But that didn’t mean Magnus was very keen on sacrificing his life. He very much enjoyed being alive and that it entailed. He loved discovering new places, meeting new people. He loved his friends, as annoying as they were, and he cherished the small family he had made for himself. Magnus was not ready to give any of those things up.

Sighing, he decided it was time to get up. Camille wouldn’t be there until night time, according to her message, but Magnus had learned in the worst way possible not to wait for her to get on with his day. So he stood up in a graceful movement and headed to the bathroom. 

Dear Maia always gave him the best rooms. It was a luxury to have their own bathroom and Magnus intended in honoring her kindness to its fullest potential. Starting by a nice bath.

He was relaxing in the warm water when he heard the muffled sound of a door opening. Judging by the lack of entitlement of the one doing the pushing, it could only be…

Alec’s voice sounded through the closed door of the bathroom. “Magnus? I brought you breakfast.”

“Thank you, darling,” Magnus said, forcing a coo down. Alec was too sweet for his own good. “I’ll be out in a minute. Just finishing scrubbing my legs.” He smirked to himself. “Unless you want to get in here and do it for me.”

“I-I just… I’ll just wait outside.”

Chuckling quietly, Magnus began to move. He had worried that after their talk on the night before, Alec would want to avoid him for some reason. It wouldn’t be an unheard reaction, and Magnus wouldn’t blame him for wanting some space.

It appeared, though, that Alec’s morning disappearance was easily explained by something else entirely: hunger. Typical Alec, going for the practical reaction instead of letting his emotions show. Magnus couldn’t stop the fond smile that took over his lips as he dried himself and put on his pants.

He had left his robe in the room. Staring at himself in the mirror, Magnus took the time to stylish his hair and apply a small layer of makeup before leaving the bathroom. He may or may not have done a few push-ups too, but that was nobody else’s business but his.

Alec was sitting on his bed, nibbling on some bread. When he saw Magnus, his pale cheeks turned pink and he looked the other way. Magnus chuckled and covered himself with a shimmering purple robe. 

“So,” Magnus said, sitting beside Alec on the bed. “What do we have for breakfast?”

“Bread. And I think those are eggs. Maia was scolding Jace, so I didn’t have a chance to ask.” Alec pointed at each item on the tray. “I have no idea what those is, but Izzy said you liked it.”

Magnus grinned and grabbed the biscuits Alec had been referring to. Bless Isabelle, that was exactly what he needed to face what lay ahead them. “These are Illenium biscuits, Alexander. The best sweet in the entire galaxy. Have a taste.”

Tentatively, Alec grabbed one and put it in his mouth. His eyes shone and for a second, Magnus thought he had choked, but soon he was nodding enthusiastically. “This is very good.”

“We can share them.” Magnus smiled. 

They ate in silence except from where Magnus had a tale to tell regarding their food. Alec listened more than he spoke, but every so often he would have an observation that earned an chuckle from Magnus. Soon the subject changed from the breakfast to the book Alec had been reading.

The conversation would probably have lasted all morning if Jace hadn’t showed up and dragged both of them to the town. The girls had been waiting for them with S1-M0N and they had planned an entire day out. 

Magnus let them have him. It was good for them to play, to have fun like they were supposed to do. Like they would if there wasn’t a war raging over them. Magnus had business to attend. Many types of people were attracted to the Hunter’s Moon and the locals knew how to extract from them the most important thing one could carry in the galaxy: information.

One of them was bound to know something that would lead him to Ragnor. Anything at all. 

But after spending the afternoon dealing with types such as that abominable smuggler Rufus for nothing, Magnus was less sure. His Master had disappeared and when Ragnor didn’t want to be found, it was virtually impossible to do it. 

Deciding it was time to interrupt his never ending quest one more time, Magnus headed back to their meeting point. He smiled when he found them sharing a table already, too engrossed in conversation to pay attention to anyone other than each other. They all had their things with them, ready to leave as soon as Camille gave them the information they needed. Alec’s half empty bag laid on his feet, but he had Magnus’ carefully placed on his lap.

That made Magnus smile, but instead of joining them at once, he headed to the bar. Maia was cleaning a glass, which she put in front of him and filled with a golden liquid that shimmered with a thousand sparkles. 

“You look like you could use something strong,” she said simply.

“My dear, you don’t know how right you are,” Magnus sighed and swallowed the drink in one go. “Tonight is going to be rough.”

Maia smiled kindly at him and refilled the glass. “Surely last night wasn’t so bad,” she said with a suggestive tone and pointed the table where the others were sitting.

Magnus scoffed and forced himself not to look at Alec. “He’s a pretty one, isn’t he? Very kind too, and braver than he gives himself credit for.” He sighed and took a sip from his drink. “But alas, I’m afraid we are from two very different worlds.”

“Aren’t us all? I never thought that would stop you.” Maia arched an eyebrow at him and leaned on the counter. “So, are you telling me about that secret mission for the Resistance or are you pulling the ‘the less you know, the better’ card Luke is so fond of?”

Gasping dramatically, Magnus brought a hand to his chest. “Maia! I would never use that on you. No, no, darling. I’ll just say it’s confidential.”

Maia rolled her eyes, though she didn’t look mad at all. “Maybe I should stop giving you the best rooms. You won’t tell me anything and you let that jerk sleep on a real bed instead of the ragged mattress I would give him.”

The bone Maia had with Jace never failed to amuse Magnus. He wasn’t quite sure about the details, but it had something to do with his former apprentice picking a fight that escalated to unforeseeable proportions and wrecked a store from one of Maia’s friends, Gretel or whatever. Truth be told, Jace was less responsible for the destruction than Maia thought, but he was still more to blame for it than Jace claimed to be.

“I have a soft heart.” Magnus shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe I’d be a better Jedi if I was heartless.”

An answer was ready on Maia’s lips and it was probably as sassy as her smirk, but her carefree expression twisted into seriousness when the door of her bar opened. “Talking about heartless.”

Magnus arched his eyebrows at her but he didn’t even have to turn around to know who Maia was talking about. It was like there was a disturbance in the Force, if the Force was his good humor. 

Chunking the rest of his drink, Magnus stood up and smoothed his robe. Camille had sat alone in a table for two and she looked as beautiful as the first time he saw her. She also looked just as traitorous, only this time Magnus could see that too. 

She was early. The two suns of the planet they were in hadn’t even begin to set and the streets were busy with movement. Well, good. The sooner they got it over with, the better.

Magnus signed to the others, knowing at least Jace and Isabelle were watching him closely. It took him a good deal of self-restraint not to chuckle when he saw Alec’s expression, though. The boy was glaring at Camille and his entire face showed nothing but contempt for her. Not for the first time, Magnus wondered if Alec forgot he wasn’t wearing a mask anymore and that people could actually see him. Probably yes.

He crossed the way to the table where Camille was waiting and sat down on the chair in front of her. The dynamic was much too familiar; him going to her. Camille was never the one doing the effort, going that extra mile. Not even when Magnus almost gave up on his Jedi training for her.

Some things were blessings in disguise and Magnus counted walking into Camille cheating on him with another padawan as being favored by the entire pantheon. It was the only thing that stopped him from destroying his future with a single stupid decision. After that small detour, Magnus had graduated his training to become the youngest Master Jedi in the history of the Order.

But now there they were, repeating the same dance they always had. 

Camille smiled at him, leaning against her chair as if it was a throne. “It’s good to see you again. It’s been too long.”

“Interesting point of view. If someone asked me, I’d say it hasn’t been long enough.” Magnus cocked his head to the side, but otherwise didn’t move a muscle. “So, what is the base’s location?”

“No rush, dearest.” Camille signed to Maia at the bar, as if she expected Maia herself to come to them to take their order. Good thing Camille’s eyes hadn’t moved from Magnus, otherwise she’d have seen the middle finger Maia flipped at her. “I know the location.”

Magnus narrowed his eyes at her. There was something wrong. Any other day, Camille would have asked for her payment, dropped the information and be gone before Magnus could even properly deal with her presence. “Then why are you stalling?”

There was a sweet smile on her lips when she decided to answer. Camille’s eyes were never kind, but there was a softness to them that Magnus hadn’t seen there since they were just kids. “Maybe I just want to enjoy your company for a little longer.”

“Maybe you’ve sold us to the Circle and are stalling until they get here.” Magnus had no patience for games, not hers. He hardly ever won with her and if he did, victory always came at a high price.

Camille chuckled lightly, a hollow thing. “I would never sell you, my dearest. I like you too much.” Something in her voice made Magnus feel like she was talking about a pet, which he supposed was exactly what Camille saw him as. 

She sighed when Magnus’ expression didn’t change. “So you don’t trust me anymore. It’s understandable, I haven’t been in my best behavior with you recently.”

“Recently? Try ‘at all’.”

“But you know,” Camille continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “you can always trust my information. I’ve helped the Resistance enough times to make myself irreplaceable. Even dear Meliorn can’t reach as far as I can. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here, sitting with me, instead of your beloved nephilims.” She stared directly at Magnus now, her icy eyes sustaining his own blazing gaze. “Who is that cute thing glaring at me like he wants to blast my head away from my body? A new friend of yours?”

Of course she would notice. Camille had a third sense to find one’s weaknesses and explore them. Only Alec was not Magnus’ weakness. If anything, he was all the incentive Magnus needed to apply all he got to destroy the Circle. Alec was-

Not the point. Camille had not mentioned him because she was playing with Magnus’ feelings. It was a distraction from what she was really doing. All she had said was true; as unreliable of a person she was, her sources were not. She had given the Resistance every piece of information they couldn’t get by themselves, never once failing them.

But why did she feel the need to sell herself high? It was almost as if she was bargaining for something. Like protection.

“Something went wrong,” Magnus said and reached for her hand. 

The instant they touched, Camille’s memories hit him with a wave of pure panic. He saw her drinking with General Victor Aldertree, the way he was laughing at all her remarks and drinking every time Camille refilled his glass. They talked about nothing and every single thing as Camille coerced him into revealing more and more about himself. 

Magnus saw the moment Camille asked him about his childhood before Aldertree could ever realize what was really going on. And he told her everything, from his training, to his classes, to his little bedroom in the Circle’s base. From then on, it was easy for her to pry away enough information to conclude where the base was stationed now without ever directly asking.

Camille was only one question away from confirming her suspicions when Aldertree smiled charmingly and brought his hand up to caress the lateral of her face with gentle fingers. Camille pressed her head against his palm as a part of the act, ignoring how cold they felt. 

Cold and sticky. She didn’t have time to blink when the drug on Aldertree’s gloves took effect and paralyzed her. 

“Now, my dear Miss Belcourt,” Aldertree hissed with a collected revulsion, “tell me when and where you are meeting your friends from the Resistance. We don’t want to have to ruin that pretty face of yours now, do we?”

Magnus gasped for air when he let go. The world was still spinning around him and Camille’s terrified expression was something he never wanted to see in his life, but now there were more pressing matters.

A huge shadow covered the sky over the bar, killing the suns’ light, and Magnus only had time to yell for the others to get ready before the first blaster shot hit the the Hunter’s Moon.

\---

Battlefields were a familiar scenario to Alec, one that he knew how to navigate without second guessing himself. He hadn’t missed them, not at all, but he would welcome the chaos a thousand times before the torture that it had been to passively watch Magnus talk to an unreliable informant, looking as distressed as the Jedi did.

So when the Circle attacked, Alec wasn’t exactly relieved, but he certainly wasn’t overly sad about it either.

The first blast hit the bar’s windows and Jace had thrown himself over Clary at the same time Izzy and Alec flipped the table for cover. The sound of two lightsabers turning on was grounding in the chaos that followed and soon a sea of stormtroopers had opened fire against them. At the same time, though, almost everyone in the Hunter’s Moon had striked back. 

Alec knew what it was to be in the middle of a crossfire so that wasn’t a problem. What was a problem was that nobody had bothered to give him a blaster, so he was as useless as S1-M0N, who was hiding behind the table with them, counting out the losses and the hostiles.

Greeting his teeth, Alec looked around. A couple of feets away, a body had fallen, holding a small DL-18 blaster. Perfect. 

Alec threw Magnus’ bag over his shoulder and grabbed S1-M0N by his shoulder. “Stay down,” he hissed and propelled forward, rolling to grab the weapon and take cover behind another flipped over table. 

He barely had time to land before he had to start shooting. Instinct and training kicked off and Alec aimed without thinking, pulling the trigger when a stormtrooper was too slow to shoot him. 

As the white faceless body fell on its back, Alec only had time to register how easy it had been to shoot one of his own before doing it, again and again and again. Magnus and Jace had pushed away the stormtroopers from the bar’s entrance and Isabelle was taking down whitehats right and left with her whip. Somehow she had turned it into a spear sharp enough to pierce through the white uniforms. The three of them had taken the fight outside and the streets were full of people screaming, fighting, and dying.

A muffled scream sounded on Alec’s left and another stormtrooper fell, their uniform turned red from the distorted lines tore on his torso. Above him, Maia panted in pure anger, her hands turned into claws. The toxic green was back to her eyes and there were fangs in her mouth when she spoke to Alec.

“Go. Take Simon and Clary with you.” She looked over to the six stormtroopers that were still inside the bar. “And close the door on your way out.”

Alec nodded and grabbed the sniper blaster from the fallen stormtrooper. “I’m sorry for your bar,” he told her.

Maia smiled and she was still sweet, despite how predatory she looked. “Let them be sorry for it.”

Nodding again, Alec couldn’t help but smile back. He shot a stormtrooper that stood in his way while Maia launched herself over two others. Alec reached his friends in no time, ducking to get behind the table with them. Clary and S1-M0N had dragged it to a wall, so they would be sheltered from the fight.

“We need to move,” Alec said, taking the opportunity to check his blaster’s charge. He still had a couple of shots. “I’ll count to three and then you run to the door.”

Clary nodded, ready to go, but S1-M0N was less certain. “Is it on three or after three?”

Ignoring him, Alec walked away again. Maia was finishing the two stormtroopers she had attacked, and she seemed to have the rest of the others under control as well. Alec headed for the door, counting in a loud voice. “One,” he said as soon as he reached the bar’s entrance, just a few feet away. 

“Two.” Alec checked if there was anyone aiming at the door, but Magnus, Jace and Isabelle had been very effective in their defense efforts. 

Alec turned back, kicking away a piece of broken wood that had been table’s foot. He was about to say ‘three’ when he saw her. Camille’s body laid on the bar’s floor, unnervingly still. There was a blast of plasma on her chest and Alec could see the cauterization on her fancy clothes. In death, Camille looked afraid, not at all like the woman who had walked into the bar as if she owned the place.

Inhaling sharply, Alec looked away. “Three,” he said loudly, and pointed the blaster to cover Clary and S1-M0N as they passed through him, running. Alec followed them and threw Maia one last glance before closing the door behind him.

Once they got to the streets, Magnus and Jace joined them. In minutes, Isabelle had opened a path among the remaining stormtroopers and they ran for the city’s gate. The forest wasn’t much further away, but they were intercepted by another troop before they were able to reach it. Magnus shouted a command and Jace turned around, Isabelle on his heels as they ran in sync to the trees.

Alec opened fire the second they were gone. If they managed to give them cover, Isabelle could reach their ship and they would have a way out of there. Beside him, Magnus absorbed the blasts with his purple lightsaber, holding their ground by himself. 

If Alec wasn’t so focused on their enemy closing in, he’d have been mesmerized. Magnus fought as if he was dancing; a graceful lethal dance. The lightsaber flipped in the air, never stopping for more than an instant. Magnus only needed an opening to attack and he made the best of whatever he got every time.

Most of their attackers were already down when they heard the ship coming. Isabelle wasted no time as she landed on top of the small group that was still trying to get to them, and Jace opened the door, hand reaching out to Clary. The girl let herself be pulled inside at the same time Magnus jumped to follow her. 

Grabbing S1-M0N, Alec propelled forward, boarding the ship with the others. Isabelle had already been taking off when Alec heard the shot, but by then he had moved on instinct, putting himself between the droid and the blast that was aimed at him. Alec closed his eyes, preparing himself for the impact.

But it never came. When he opened his eyes, the plasma shot was frozen in the air, mere inches from his chest. Magnus was by his side, arm stretched as he held it in place. “Izzy, now!” he commanded.

They were almost out of the planet’s atmosphere when Alec watched the plasma shot move again, hitting nothing. He relaxed and helped Jace close the door. They exchanged a small smile of relief when they saw both of them were alright and the Jedi was about to make some smart remark, but Magnus interrupted him.

“Don’t go too far, Izzy,” he said, his voice dry in seriousness. “We’ll have to contact Camille once she gets out of the planet, if she hasn’t already.”

Alec felt his heart weight against his chest. Inhaling sharply, he reached for Magnus, but didn’t go all the way to touch him. “Camille is dead. I’m sorry.”

\---

“Camille is dead,” Alec said, looking somewhere between devastated and worried. “I’m sorry.”

Magnus’ first instinct was to comfort him, to tell Alec it was alright. He was sure it hadn’t been his fault and, in the middle of the confusion, Magnus had never stopped to pay Camille any mind. She never needed anyone to protect her and if there was anyone he knew that could find her way out of war without breaking a fingernail, it was Camille.

But instead, Magnus just blinked. Suddenly, his knees were too weak and he had to sit down to avoid falling. All the effort from the fight hit him at once, but it felt so much worse than he would’ve anticipated.

She couldn’t be dead. Camille was mean, untrustworthy, selfish. But she was also untouchable and the smartest person Magnus knew. She was supposed to live on, breaking hearts and betraying people to her advantage as she went. If she were ever to be killed, it would be as retribution for all the bad she’d done. Not in a crossfire, taken by surprise. It didn’t make sense, not truly. 

Magnus ought to feel sad, or relieved, or vindicated. But he just felt hollow. He had no idea where Ragnor was, and now Camille was gone too. 

Gingerly, Alec kneeled beside him and touched his arm. His fingers were warm, gentle in a way that made it almost too light to feel. Magnus leaned against them and soon Alec was holding him close, not uttering any words. For some reason, Magnus thought he should be crying, but there were no tears in his eyes.

The others started to move slowly, taking care of the ship and settling down as Isabelle maneuvered them into space. General Aldertree had severely underestimated the Resistance and had only sent three troops to get rid of them, which meant there were no reinforcements waiting outside the planet. Not that Magnus could blame him; for all that Aldertree knew, Camille was still paralyzed in the room he had thrown her in. 

He could never imagine how strong Camille truly was. Misjudging her demure appearance for weakness was a crucial mistake, but it was also what allowed her to escape by seducing her stormtrooper guard and stealing the key to his vessel. She was out of the planet before Aldertree could even begin to miss her.

As they crossed the empty darkness, Clary sat down next to S1-M0N and Jace, searching for scratches or any kind of damage and sighing in relief when both her boys were fine. She did the same for Alec and Magnus as best as she could, but Alec refused to let go of Magnus. 

Eventually, Isabelle looked at the others solemnly. “So what do we do now? Without Camille, we have no idea where the Circle’s base is.”

“We can’t give up,” Clary said. “We just have to find another way to discover the location. We didn’t come all the way here for nothing.”

“Biscuit is right,” Magnus smiled quietly, leaning his head against Alec’s shoulder. He didn’t feel like it, but a laugh creeped over his throat either way. 

There were some things even time couldn’t change. Camille was never one to be tamed, not by a government, not by any of her lovers. Unknowingly even to herself, she had managed to outsmart the Circle and aid the Resistance as her final stunt.

Magnus looked around at the confused expressions that regarded him. “We didn’t come all the way here for nothing. Nor did Camille die in vain. The Circle’s base is located in Nanth'ri. She told me before we were attacked.”

Nodding, Isabelle turned her attention to piloting, putting them in course right away. Both Clary and Jace smiled, their sullen expressions gone, though they had the decency not to say anything. S1-M0N moved to help Isabelle trace the best route to Nanth’ri and soon the ship was filled with murmurs and hope.

“Hey,” Alec said softly, “thanks for saving my life back there.”

“Anytime, Alexander.” Magnus smiled at him and surprising himself with how easy it was. “Thanks for being a great pillow.”

Alec snorted. “Anytime. Why don’t you close your eyes for a couple of minutes?”

Magnus nodded and snuggled closer to him. “Don’t mind if I do. Wake me up if something exciting happens, darling. But it has to be more exciting than your biceps, which rules out a lot.”

The small chuckle that escaped Alec’s lips was the last sound Magnus heard before he fell asleep. He dreamed of a faraway land, when he was just a boy running around with Raphael and ignoring Ragnor’s advice. How simple it had all been. How innocent.

He was still seeing his younger self laughing with Raphael’s smaller siblings when a gentle nudge woke Magnus up.

Alec looked apologetic as he brushed away the hair that had fallen over Magnus’ eyes. They were still sitting closely, and it should not be as comfortable as it was. They were both too big for the chair, but still, they fit together just fine. 

But Magnus didn’t have time to dwell on that much. Alec sighed and although his face was serious, there was too much apprehension on his hazel eyes. 

“We’ve arrived,” he said, in the same tone one would use to announce one’s death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going down <3
> 
> Thank you so much, babe! [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit) rocks and everyone should know it.
> 
> As for me, I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Tracking #asfj on Twitter if you feel like live-tweeting.
> 
> Ketz


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Star Wars is back! Both the real deal and this silly fic!
> 
> And by silly fic I mean, let the angst start! Be ready for The Mission, part 1; everything going very wrong; and the final revelation.
> 
> Enjoy <3

Alec stared at the stormtrooper helmet, unable to even blink. He had managed to put on the rest of the uniform without thinking much about it, but when he picked up the helmet, his body stopped moving. 

The whole process of dressing up was rather automatic by now, something he would do every morning since he was fourteen and the Circle provided him his first uniform. They gave their soldiers two years to get so used to it, so they would forget how it felt to wear anything else.

But now, Alec remembered. He knew what it was to have real clothes, to feel different sorts of fabric against his skin, to choose different colors every morning. He had stuck with neutrals and dark tones, which he liked best, but also because they were so opposite to the bright white. 

To think he would have to put on that helmet again, made him feel nauseous. It was just a disguise, a way to get into the base without getting noticed. Alec knew he could take it off the moment they were in, but still…

He didn’t want to go back to seeing the world through those black eyes. Not when he’d learn to see color, to see light. 

Alec had accepted the mission not for any love for the Resistance. Although he respected General Luke, the only reason he had said yes was to give his friends a fighting chance. Without anyone to guide them, they would be lost in the most dangerous place of the Circle, its very home. The Shadowhunter was stationed there and he wouldn’t hesitate in shredding them into pieces if any of them so much as crossed his path.

It was up to Alec to make sure it didn’t happen. He had traced a plan in his mind, one not so callous as what they had until that moment. They would infiltrate through the machinery lounge, where the patrol wasn’t as tight. From there, the data center was just a short way up the colossal planet-ship. If everything went according to plan, they would be in and out in less than two hours.

But in order to do that, Alec had to go back to being a stormtrooper, something he was not sure he could do anymore.

“Hey,” Clary’s voice sounded tentatively on his right. She was smiling shyly at him and for a second it seemed she had forgotten what she wanted to say, but then Clary offered him a E11 Blaster. “It’s completely full and I added a plasma cartridge, just to be sure. I also modified it a bit, see here?” She stepped closer, pointing to a new setting where usually were the buttons for the power settings. “Now there’s a sniper mode. I thought you’d like it.”

Alec nodded and took the blaster, calibrating it to his liking. “Thank you, Fray.” That was the name Jocelyn had elected for herself and her daughter, so Alec had decided to use it. He couldn’t quite yet wrap his head around calling the Supreme Leader’s daughter by a nickname. For too long he had thought of Clarissa Morgenstern as this faceless figure, someone who had been lost in the Mortal War, taken away by the evil Downworlder Resistance.

But there she was, standing on a resistance ship, risking her life to defeat her father. Not a victim of circumstances, but a warrior in her own right. 

Clary shook her head. “I should be the one thanking you,” she said quietly, surprising Alec. She elaborated when she saw his puzzled frown. “You saved Simon.”

“Magnus saved Simon.” Alec shrugged and pressed the setting to stun. If they crossed paths with any children, he wanted to make sure not to hurt them when defending himself. They would attack, no questions asked, but they were children still. 

“Yes, but you were ready to take that shot for him.” Clary looked down, her pretty face torn between her frowning and biting her lower lip. “Alec, I wanted to apologize for the things I said about you. I was wrong and I can see it now. You really are one of us.”

The words were half shocking and soothing. As much as Izzy and Jace had welcomed Alec, as much as Magnus insisted he saw something special in him, Clary had always been the counterpoint. She represented the distrust Alec felt himself, a force of chaos that would not subdue to order and law, if she deemed those unworthy of following. For all her lack of experience outside the Resistance’s quarters, Clary was the real rebel among their small group of friends. She was the first one to say no, the first to demand the world to be a better place.

So if even Clary saw good in him, it must be true.

Alec blinked and brought a hand to her arm, not sure of what to say. It was the right gesture, judging by the scrunchy smile he received in return. Clary blinked and left his side to go check on S1-M0N. The droid had asked Alec to describe the entire facility, which earned him a silent glare until Isabelle mentioned it was a good idea to have a rough map before going in. Alec had then obliged, and it seemed his memory was better than expected. They would go in with a pretty good idea of what had been the base where he’d grown up.

Magnus had been uncharacteristically quiet since he’d woken up. Jace had sat down with his former master and they went away to meditate together while the others traced the map. It was supposed to help them to calm their thoughts, but Alec didn’t see any calmness on Magnus’ semblance when the two Jedis got back. He had learned how to read him, or, at least, how to see through the mask Magnus wore. There was nothing fake about Magnus’ confidence, but now Alec knew it came from knowledge and ability, both things Magnus had earned throughout the years. 

Now there was doubt on him, and grief for the assurance he had lost.

“All right,” Isabelle said, drawing everyone’s attention to herself. She was done helping S1-M0N program himself and now that she had nothing else to do but wait, Isabelle had grown restless. “It’s almost time. Get in there, get the info, and get yours asses back to my ship. That’s the plan. I’ll keep the engines running for us to get out of this morbid waste.” 

It was a simplistic version of it, but Isabelle’s summary made Alec smile. The way she spoke made it seem easy, as if it was exactly how the mission was going to go. Jace was smiling too, no trace of hesitation on him at all. Clary and S1-M0N nodded to each other and Alec knew they were ready to go.

Magnus threw a fond glance at Isabelle. “Don’t worry, darling. You won’t even notice we’re gone.”

Isabelle brushed her hair behind her shoulder, dismissively. “If you guys are not back here in two hours, I’m going to start firing at will.”

“That’s fair,” Jace said with a wink, looking comfortable even in the white plates of the uniform. After meditating, Magnus and him had gone scouting on the planet-ship and they had found a trio of stormtroopers patrolling the perimeter. Alec was thankful he didn’t recognize them when the Jedis brought the unconscious bodies to the ship and stole their uniforms. “Now we’d better get going. The whitehats’ patrol is about to end.”

He got up, smiling one last time at Isabelle before putting on the helmet and leaving the ship. Magnus squeezed her arm affectionately and left as well. Both Clary and S1-M0N hugged their fierce pilot and the girls exchanged a few encouraging words before parting away.

Finally, Isabelle passed her arm through Alec’s and smiled at him. “Get them back here safely, cous.” She squeezed his hand and for a second Alec could see the worry in her big eyes but it was hastily replaced by her usual assurance. “And remember I love you. We all do.”

Alec smiled. “I love you too, Iz.” He put the helmet on, pressuring it with an easiness he wasn’t aware he possessed.

Isabelle winked at him and pressed a kiss on his mask, taking her seat to start hacking into the Circle’s surveillance system. “Give them hell.”

\---

Entering the machinery room was quicker than Magnus thought it would be. Alec led them inside with no hesitation, knowing exactly when to move and when to wait, judging perfectly when they had a window of opportunity. Despite his general knowledge of the place, Magnus was sure Alec didn’t actually know the details of the planet-ship’s plan, but he knew the standard routine and so Alec was able to tell where to go next in order to get to the main corridor.

It was especially impressive considering they were all in those tacky uniforms. Wearing something so ominous was frankly distracting, not to mention degrading. Even Alec’s perfectly shaped ass looked bad. No wonder Magnus didn’t think much of him when they first met.

Magnus sighed and continued as Alec gave them the sign. They moved in order to hide S1-M0N, the only one without a disguise, and Clary, who was too short to be taken as a stormtrooper in her floppy uniform. Putting her next to Alec was risking their plan to be discovered before it even started. 

“There,” Alec said, pointing to a door at the end of the long room they had been crossing. “The main corridor should be behind that door.”

Jace nodded and they advanced together, in the way a double unit would. Magnus was frankly amazed by how in sync Alec and Jace could move, as if they had trained it together all their life instead of only knowing each other for a couple of months. 

“So far, so good,” Clary said beside Magnus, fidgeting with her blaster.

Magnus nodded, a gesture that had to be exaggerated because of the helmet. Even if they survived the mission, his hair absolutely wouldn’t. “The trickiest part starts now, biscuit.”

The door opened in front of Alec and Jace, revealing an empty corridor. Magnus, Clary and S1-M0N joined them carefully. They had no idea if Isabelle had been able to freeze the cameras, but Magnus had learned not to underestimate her. 

They stepped out in the corridor, Alec and Jace marching in front with Magnus and Clary in the back, S1-M0N hiding behind them. In that formation, Alec was able to see what laid ahead and Magnus was in the perfect position to protect Clary and the droid. 

No signs of the Circle recognizing the invasion sounded, so the group got going. Isabelle must had worked her magic.

Suddenly, Jace raised a hand and they all stopped at once. There were footsteps coming, sure and hard. Two people, though Magnus only knew it because of his extensive training. The stormtroopers moved in perfect unison, not a single movement out of line.

When the duo showed up in the corner, Magnus felt the itch to attack, but he shut it down. It would be best if they didn’t called attention to themselves by taking out every guard they met on the way. 

“You have no number tag,” a dry female voice sounded from one of the stormtroopers, her voice muffled by the helmet. “Report.”

Magnus could feel Alec’s apprehension, even if his posture didn’t change. There was something about that stormtrooper that made him hesitate for just a second. “AL-2532, reporting from patrol duty.”

The exact same feeling emanated from the female stormtrooper and Magnus could swear he had heard her gasp. The other stormtrooper looked between them and then stared back at Alec. “You’re back. We were not notified.”

“I have to report back to Captain Preston, RJ-7257. I do not have to answer to you.” The emptiness on Alec’s voice threw Magnus back to the day they met, when Alec had no name and no future. Listening to him use it again, to people he obviously knew, was disconcerting. 

The answer seemed to satisfy the woman, but RJ-7257 was less convinced. “The standard procedure is to-”

They never learned what the standard procedure was. Jace moved his hand, shutting the man down. RJ-7257 crumbled on the floor, but the woman took a step back, blaster in hand and ready to shoot. “Freeze!”

“No!” Alec shouted, but he had his blaster out too. “Jace, stop! LB-2677, don’t shoot!”

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Jace said in a small voice. He used the second of hesitation from LB-2677’s part to move closer, quickly disarming her. She was on her knees the next second, with Jace holding her arms against her back.

Magnus moved too, pointing his lightsaber at her face. The handler was shaped in the resemblance of a small blaster, so it would be taken for one in case Magnus was captured or, what tended to happen more often, arrested after one too many drinks in a bar. He couldn’t actually shoot with it, but there had only been one occasion Magnus wished he could. This wasn’t it. 

“Alright, darling, play nice and we won’t have to put you to sleep like your friend over there.” He looked over to Alec. “Where can we put them? A garbage compactor?”

Alec shook his head. “The cell holder. There are cuffs on the back of her uniform. Tie her up.”

“Traitor,” LB-2677 hissed, her voice colored with disgust. Magnus gestured for Jace to move her and in seconds, she and her companion were tied up and left inside an empty armory. Alec didn’t help them do it, but Magnus didn’t blame him. There was a history there, and it was not the time to poke Alec about it.

“Let’s keep moving,” Clary said when they were done. “We are wasting time.”

Alec didn’t need any further encouragement. He went back to guiding them carefully but surely to the data center. As far as Alec could remember, it was all stored in a huge tower in the east wing, near the evaluating rooms. It shouldn’t be much farther away now. 

“Jackpot!” S1-M0N exclaimed when they entered the hangar that lead straight to sinuous huge tower. “Or should I say stormiepot? Because it’s a pot full of stormtroopers’ files.”

Jace turned all the way to face him and even with the mask, Magnus could clearly picture his utterly unimpressed glare. “Don’t.”

“What?”

“Just don’t. No jokes, no comments, no almost smart remarks.”

S1-M0N brought a hand to his chest. “But then what do I have left?”

“Perfect silence,” Jace answered with no hesitation. 

The discussion would have extended longer but suddenly all lights went out and a siren started sounding. A bleak red light lit up the hangar and Magnus could feel a sense of dread fall upon the group. 

“Invaders on level two,” LB-2677’s voice sounded between siren alarms. 

Alec tutted. “She’s always been resourceful. Come on, we have to reach the tower before they-”

The door behind them shut open and a contingent of stormtroopers appeared, blasters in hand. Magnus only had time to turn on his lightsaber before the first couple of shots started flying. He didn’t see when Jace moved, but he was in his side a second later, deflecting the plasma Magnus couldn’t reach. 

“Screw this,” Jace said and ripped off his mask, throwing it on one of the closer stormtroopers. 

Magnus figured he had a point. He spun around in a jump, landing in the middle of the whitehats’ formation. Kicking the nearest one, Magnus thrusted away the white pieces of his uniform, hitting the others while he made his own helmet fly up so Jace could kick it on one soldier’s face. 

“Resistance scum!” a mechanic voice hissed behind Magnus and the Jedi had just a moment to recognize the sound of a blaster charging on his bare back. 

A shot was fired, but it hit the stormtrooper instead. When Magnus turned, Alec had his blaster out, his helmet long gone. “You okay?”

So sweet. “Go,” Magnus said, nodding with a smirk. “Jace and I will hold them back.”

Alec nodded and rushed Clary and S1-M0N to the other side. Magnus was ready to turn his attention back to the remaining stormtroopers when he heard a door opening almost halfway through the hangar. Thinking it was another contingent of stormtroopers, Magnus sighed and prepared to fight.

But it wasn’t more stormtroopers. There was a single man standing in front of a frozen Alec, dressed all in black, a black mask covering his face and any trace of humanity he could have left. By all rights, he shouldn’t be standing there with such unshakable presence.

The Shadowhunter lifted his hand and Alec dropped his blaster at the same time a wave of stormtroopers fell upon Magnus.

\---

“Traitor,” the Shadowhunter hissed, loathing dripping from his low voice. If it wasn’t for the utter contempt, the voice could have never be considered human, but still, it made a rush of fear creep on Alec’s spine.

The next thing he saw was the Shadowhunter’s hand, five fingers covered in black leather. It was just a gesture, but it was enough to make him drop his blaster, to make him forget everything else. Alec was vaguely aware that Clary and S1-M0N had been pushed away, but it didn’t matter anymore.

All that mattered was that he was going to die.

“The Supreme Leader took you in,” the Shadowhunter spoke again, his voice filling Alec’s mind, pushing everything else away. Every word he said made breathing harder and soon all Alec could hear was that booming voice and the sound of his heartbeat racing. “He gave you a home, training, a purpose. And you walked away, you ungrateful filth. Joined the vermins of the Resistance, became the very thing that is destroying the galaxy.”

Alec gasped for air, his entire body shaking. He wanted to tell the Shadowhunter that the Circle was wrong, that it had given him nothing but lies. That the Resistance was made of brave people, people who wanted to do right by the galaxy. That if someone was destroying the galaxy, it was the Supreme Leader himself. 

But Alec couldn’t. He was barely able to keep himself on his feet, let alone open his mouth for anything other than breathing. 

The Shadowhunter sighed, a gesture that was almost callous. “I feel so much anger in you. So much fear.” His voice was velvet, smooth and sweet and dangerous. It was so familiar, so close to what Alec had learned to see as home. “You should be afraid, AL-2532. You should be terrified. You’ve betrayed your family. You’ve shattered the trust we had in you.”

Flashes blinked in front of Alec’s eyes like a blow. He saw the faces of LB-2677 and RJ-7257, he saw himself standing aside and letting the others take them. Alec saw the other kids from the academy, remembered the dark nights where he had nothing else to look for than the next shooting practice. How his instructors would nod at his results, how that filled him with pride. 

More flashes and Alec remembered when he was selected for command. He wa given a chance to rise, a chance to serve General Aldertree directly. It was everything he’d ever want-

“N-no,” Alec grunted, remembering the very first time he was commanded to shoot a living person. 

Clenching his teeth, he tried to shake his head. Alec didn’t want to think of any of that, not anymore. He didn’t want to go back to that life, if it could be called a life at all. He was free. He could be anyone he wanted, anyone at all. 

The Shadowhunter scoffed, a sound that was half a humorless laugh, half an incredulous snort. “But you can’t. You are not a person, AL-2352. You are a weapon. You live to serve the Circle, to execute the Supreme Leader’s vision. This is the only reason you are alive, the only reason you exist at all. The only thing you know how to do. Hurt. Kill. Annihilate.”

The images of perfect shots danced in front of Alec’s eyes. Month after month, all he did was practice until there was no target he’d miss, no shot he couldn’t make. He was precise, efficient, lethal. All the people he refused to kill would be dead if he as much as wanted to. 

Just like the stormtroopers fallen from Alec’s shots in the Hunter’s Moon. During the fight, there had been no time for doubts, for second guessing. Alec had shot them, one after the other, and never as much as glanced back.

But had he killed them? He never checked the switch, did he? Did Alec even know them?

Was he a murderer? 

“Yes,” the Shadowhunter said, almost kindly. “They are all dead, and you are the reason. Your true brothers and sisters. The ones you’ve sworn to fight alongside and to protect. You had no problems murdering innocents.”

Alec winced, his breathing sharp and irregular. He desperately needed air, but every time he inhaled hurt like a shot bursting through his lungs. He had killed them. The one thing Alec refused to do, but it had been so easy, so quick. 

The Shadowhunter shook his head. “But it is not too late to earn forgiveness, AL-2352,” he said gently. Air flung into Alec’s lungs, knocking his balance away. “All you’ve done can be forgiven, all your crimes against the galaxy, against the Circle. You never wanted to leave. They took you from us. They filled your head with false hope. They lied to you, told you you were a nephilim, told you you could be anything else than what you are. An elaborate ruse to make you turn against the people who really care about you.”

A ruse? But it felt real. Every single talk, every single glance exchanged. Iz had even said so, she’d said that she loved him. Jace did too, and he had opened his eyes to a new universe. And Magnus… Magnus who was something so completely new and different and good. They could not have lied to him. Could they?

“Yes,” the Shadowhunter whispered. “That is what Jedis do. They lie and hide their deceptions behind kind words and friendly smiles. Anything for their so sacred order, anything to defeat those who dare to oppose them. They turned you into a killer.”

But even if they lied about their love for him, they did not lie about who Alec was. A nephilim; a child of Alicante. He was warrior born, he had bravery thrust into him from birth: the glowing rune proved it. Alec still had it, on his right hand. If he could just take off his glove, it would be there-

Alec gasped, his lungs hurting so much, he fell on his knees. There was no air, only pain. And he deserved it. 

He was a murderer. A killer. 

“Leave him alone!” a feminine voice called beside Alec. Clary. She was back, though she had to be supported by S1-M0N. It was like they were fighting air in order to get closer. “Whatever he’s saying to you is a lie, Alec! He’s nothing but a liar! You did nothing wrong!”

The Shadowhunter cocked his head to the side, looking at her in silence. It felt like an eternity had passed before he shook his head. “But he did and you know it. AL-2352 tried killing you and your pet robot. He would’ve. He wanted to. That’s what he’d been trained to do. Kill Resistance scum, even you, Clarissa.”

Alec wanted to say it wasn’t true, but that would be a lie. He would have killed Clary if it meant going back. If it meant not angering the Circle. The only reason he hadn’t shot her at sight was because she was the Supreme Leader’s daughter.

Clary grunted, shaking her head. “Stop it!” Her voice was suddenly muffled, like it was thousands of miles away. 

All Alec heard was the Shadowhunter’s voice. “She doesn’t deny it. She knows you’ll never be more than a stormtrooper.” He scoffed in disdain. “They will never love you. You are nothing to them, just a fool they are using to hurt the Circle. They will have no use for you once they’ve completed their deception.” He sighed. “They made you kill for them. They made you accept a suicide mission, because they thought the Circle would kill you first.”

Camille’s hollow eyes stared at Alec. They were empty and dead. It was his fault too. The hurt Magnus felt, it was Alec’s fault too. He should have never accepted the mission. They never should have come. 

They were all dead and Alec was the one killing them. 

The Shadowhunter lowered his hand and Alec inhaled sharply, suffocating on air. A hundred and more sounds flooded over Alec’s head and he felt dizzy, completely overwhelmed. “They are wrong, AL-2352,” the Shadowhunter said, his voice sounding a little further away than before, less ominous, less powerful. “You will not betray the Circle and we know it. You came home. And you brought us a gift.”

“What?” Clary asked, confused.

But there was no time to make sense of those words. An explosion outside of the complex made the ground tremble and Alec lost his balance again, though he felt little reason to keep trying to stand. S1-M0N fell beside him, but Clary was able to use the moment of distraction to shoot at the Shadowhunter.

He avoided the blast with his red lightsaber easily enough. The Shadowhunter cocked his head to the side, staring at them through those hollow black eyes. “Do what you were meant to do, AL-2352. The Circle will welcome you back.”

“Stay away from him, Sebastian,” a raging voice bummed and suddenly purple and red lightsabers met. 

Magnus was on the Shadowhunter, dancing his lethal dance. He was too fast and the Shadowhunter couldn’t spare a moment of distraction. They fought with gracious spins and precise strikes, the vooms of the lightsabers filling the hangar with a deadly sense of dread.

“Come on, Alec,” Clary said, her face framed with determination. “We have to keep going. We’re almost at the data center.” She pushed him by the arm, gently but firmly. 

AL-2352 closed his hand on his blaster and let himself be pulled away. 

The Shadowhunter’s words finally made sense. AL-2352 had to go back, it was his only option. He had to redeem himself and Clary was the way to do it. He would trade the Supreme Leader’s daughter for his spot on the stormtrooper’s army and he would do what he was supposed to, the only thing he knew how to do. He would kill the Resistance’s terrorists. 

Starting by those who were lying to him. Starting by Magnus. Starting by Jace. 

S1-M0N reached the door for the tower first. Clary was still supporting AL-2352 as they ran back the stairs. There was nobody to stop them, nobody on their way. The droid took only seconds to hack into the control room and soon they were in front of the main computer. 

“Let the magic begin,” S1-M0N said, metal fingers flying over the keyboard. Clary stopped at his side, helping him crack the codes as they opened on the screen. It wasn’t long before they found the stormtrooper’s files and began searching for anything that would help prove the Circle was stealing children.

AL-2352 let them. Neither the girl or the droid would be leaving the planet-ship, so there was no need to stop them. Another explosion made the entire floor tremble and AL-2352 sighed. Isabelle was probably the one causing havoc on the outside, and she would be the hardest to kill, but he would let that to the base’s defenses. 

He positioned himself on the open window. Down at the hangar, Magnus and Jace attacked the Shadowhunter at the same time, but were struggling to find an opening. Every slash was blocked, every move, foreseen. Their joint effort also meant the Shadowhunter himself couldn’t do much more than defend himself, even when he activated the second beam of light at the other end of his saber.

AL-2352 took out his blaster, putting it on sniper mode. On his visor, he could see the fight from much closer. He saw Magnus’ focused expression and Jace’s angry growl. He saw the purple and green light twirl and swipe, but always hit red. 

The three fighters were too quick for a clear shot. It wasn’t supposed to be possible and if AL-2352 missed, he wouldn’t be able to prove himself. He would miss his opportunity to go back, to be forgiven for his treasonous acts. 

But AL-2352 never missed. He took aim, visor locked on Magnus’ head. At any second, he would have a shot. All he needed was one and then Magnus would be dead. 

Jace jumped on his visor and AL-2352 blinked, but followed his moves. It would be easier to take him out and disbalance the fight. Jace had been the one who lied to him first. The one who told him he could be something other than a stormtrooper. He deserved to die for his lies, for using his trust like that.

But Magnus had lied too, not only in words but in actions. He was the one who had taken AL-2352, the one who started it all. The one who made AL-2352 feel human for the first time, who toyed with him at every opportunity. He made him feel wanted, cherished, even loved. He made AL-2352 feel.

Magnus’ glimmering gold eyes shone on AL-2352’s visor and it was then that he had the perfect shot. 

“Hey, Alec,” S1-M0N called, his voice small. “You should take a look at this.”

“Not now.”

“No, really,” the droid insisted. “I found your file.”

AL-2352 grunted in annoyance. He had lost his shot because of stupid S1-M0N and his inability to stay silent. Turning around, he was ready to shoot the droid when he saw his own file on the screen and something caught his eyes. 

He had seen other stormtrooper’s files before, though he had never seen his own. They were all the same, so it never mattered to him much. Their tag, the planet where they were found and rescued from, their race. There was a box for known family, but it was never filled. 

But his was. There were names there, names he recognized. Names he knew. Names he had used.

_AL-2352_  
_Born in: Alicante_  
_Race: Nephilim_  
_Known family: Robert Lightwood (dead); Maryse Lightwood (dead); Isabelle Lightwood; Max Lightwood._

“You’re not just a nephilim,” Clary whispered quietly. “You are a Lightwood.”

Alec turned around, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> The biggest thank you ever for my lovely [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit), the fastest beta this side of the world. And the other one too.
> 
> And a huge thank you to [Kazechama](http://kazechama.tumblr.com/) as well. That last scene wouldn't be half as angsty without you ;)
> 
> I can be found on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys <3
> 
> First of all: Operation Season 3 is a go! Yay! Hopefully we'll see more one month of malec dating. I say after two whole months, they are engaged. Yup.
> 
> But before that, some Star Wars. The Mission, Part II
> 
> Warnings: Last scene is NSFW.

The plasma blast exploded against the Shadowhunter’s shoulder right when he was about to slice Jace in two. Magnus moved in a flash, using the momentary distraction to rid Sebastian of his lightsaber with a well placed kick. He then kicked the hilt down the hangar, far away enough that it couldn’t be quickly recovered even by a force user.

Jace had no problem taking over from there and punching that horrible mask away. Magnus had to say he was proud of his former apprentice; there was no honor in using a lightsaber on an unarmed opponent. 

Another explosion made the ground tremble. Isabelle was having her share of fun, that was for sure. If she kept up that rate, there would be no more planet-ship to escape from. Which was fine by Magnus.

Another wave of stormtroopers arrived, making it impossible for them to keep fighting Sebastian. Without his mask and knocked down, the Shadowhunter didn’t look like the harbourer of death he was famous to be. He looked like a lost kid, too consumed with darkness to even know what humanity was anymore. 

But he wasn’t a kid. He was an adult, who had every opportunity to do better and still didn’t. 

“We should probably sit this one out,” Jace said, arching an eyebrow. 

Magnus nodded. “Perfect technical analysis of the situation, Jacewan.” He grabbed the other Jedi and pushed him to retreat. The stormtroopers were already shooting, but it was easy enough to deflect their shots.

Especially with Alec covering them from the top of the data tower. There was a system to his blasts as he took each stormtrooper down one by one. Almost as if it was easy. The shots came with a sense of rhythm, like a countdown. 

It was surprisingly calming, as if it was a mantra of sorts. And Magnus knew all about mantras.

“Hey!” Clary’s voice sounded from behind them as Magnus and Jace made it to the door to the data tower. Jace kept deflecting the shots that were coming their way, but there weren’t many stormtroopers left.

S1-M0N yelped when a blast pass through them and hit just over his head. “We should go now. Definitely. Yup, let’s go.”

Magnus looked behind them. “Where’s Alec?”

“Here,” Alec said, coming out of the flight of stairs, blaster still in hand. “We don’t have much time before they send in reinforcements. We have the files. All of them. And maybe more, I stopped listening to whatever the droid was saying after a while.” He looked briefly at S1-M0N and Clary. “We got my file too.”

“Oh, darling.” Magnus felt his heart skip a beat.

Alec shook his head quickly. “I-It’s a good thing. Pretty good.”

Jace rolled his eyes at them. “Less flirting, more running.”

As if she agreed with him, Isabelle blasted the walls of the building again, but this time with full force. The explosion finally pierced deep enough to open a huge hole into the wall. Pieces of metal flew into every direction, putting a barrier of smoke between them and the remaining stormtroopers.

And creating a direct path to their ship. 

“Go, now!” Magnus yelled. 

Jace didn’t hesitate for a second, shielding Clary and S1-M0N as they ran. The plasma shots resumed coming, fewer and uncertain. Alec shot back, rambling about the lack of a clear target. It made Magnus chuckle despite himself. 

“Come on, pretty boy.” Magnus smirked at him, twirling his lightsaber as he deflected a couple more shots. “We get out of here and an hour from now, I hope we can get into each other.”

Alec snorted at that, taking his eyes off his blaster for a second. “No shame.”

Magnus chuckled again. In that moment, it didn’t matter where they were, what had happened before. They had the data, they were going home. Alec had a small smile painting his lips. The Resistance had triumphed. 

Suddenly, all Magnus felt was pain. First, it was just a sting, almost superficial. It started at the side of his body, a little over his right hip, like a scratch. But then it started spreading. It wasn’t just on one side, but on his entire torso. And it kept hurting.

“Magnus,” Alec whispered, catching him as Magnus’ legs failed for a second. “Hold on.” He turned around, shooting again as he dragged both of them out of the ship. “You’re going to be fine, Magnus. Just keep moving.”

In the hurricane of pain, Magnus just focused on keeping walking. The smoke was gone by then and Magnus got a glimpse of what it was hiding. The Shadowhunter was back on his feet, but besides him there was another figure. Someone Magnus had seen in another person’s mind.

General Aldertree put down his blaster and his face was as much as much of a mask as the one Sebastian wore. Only colder. 

“Come on,” Alec grunted between his teeth. Their ship had took off to avoid being blown to pieces, and Magnus wasn’t quite sure he was seeing right, but it seemed Jace was holding on the open door as if waiting for a sign.

Alec’s hand held Magnus tighter against himself. They had reached the end of the lateral pier of the building. There was nowhere else to go and new shots were coming their way. Alec shot back aimlessly, in a desperate attempt to protect them.

“Well, that’s was not how I imagined this would go,” Magnus whispered despite the pain. He thought plasma shots weren’t supposed to carve into skin, but he was pretty positive he was bleeding. Or maybe the wet sensation was just the sweat. He was covered in it, and still shivers ran up and down his spine.

“No kidding,” Alec said back, his eyes searching for a way out of that mess. They finally locked up with Jace’s gaze when Isabelle leveled up the ship close enough. “This is not going to be fun.”

Magnus blinked, wondering what Alec was talking about. He didn’t have to wait long to find out, though. With a small nod to Jace, Alec threw away his blast and held Magnus with both hands. And then he jumped.

If they didn’t die that day, Magnus was going to kill both Alec and Jace.

The ship sunk down with them almost immediately and Magnus had time to decide he’d kill Isabelle too before he felt both Alec and him being propelled inside. They were dashed right beside Jace, landing on S1-M0N, who caught them in his arms.

Well, mostly. Magnus would probably call that a crushing hug rather than a proper catch, but it worked just the same. And he was only blinded by the pain for a couple of seconds, so Magnus had to admitted all in all, the escape plan was not so bad.

Clary slammed the button on the door, closing it. “Go, go, go!”

Without wasting any seconds, Isabelle spun the ship around. She had destroyed the two nearest cannons, so all the shots in their direction weren’t hard for her to avoid. They had only barely gained enough space when Isabelle went into hyper speed, getting them as far away as they could.

“So that was a complete disaster,” she said, turning her chair to meet them. “Aside from the fact we completed the mission that is. Good thing I just started shooting.”

“And that you’re the best pilot of the galaxy,” Clary added with a smirk.

Isabelle smirked back, but shrugged and patted her control panel. “I also have the best ship. This baby could make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.”

“A feature only my beloved ever accomplished,” S1-M0N sighed hopefully, bringing a hand to his chest. His visor cleared. “Wait, am I leaking oil? Red oil?”

“No, that’s me.” Magnus sighed, closing his eyes. Alec had carefully pushed Magnus to lay down on his chest. Now that he had a second to breathe, the injury felt even worse. 

Jace cursed loudly in a very un-Jedi way and ran to open the compartment where Isabelle kept the first aid kit. He grabbed the Bacta infused-bandaged and threw it to Alec. “What happened?”

Magnus rolled his eyes, but the warm touch of the healing substance soothed his annoyance. “Aldertree happened. They couldn’t just politely let us escape, I guess.”

“Yes, they are often rude like that.” Alec worked carefully but precisely, cleaning up the smeared blood. 

Part of the skin had been burned too, but it was not the worst injury Magnus had ever suffered. He’d take the shot again if that meant that none of the others was hurt. “Beside this minor inconvenience,” Magnus said, ignoring Alec’s weak protest, “how was the docs hunt? Did you guys find anything useful?”

“Only if you consider a bunch of stormtroopers’ files, the reports on the increase of the army and the communication detailing the planets that were attacked as ‘in need of shutting down’ as useful.” Clary sat down and hugged her legs, throwing a meaningful look at Alec, who didn’t say anything.

Isabelle arched an eyebrow. “Alright, what happened? And don’t try to lie to me.” She looked around, daring them to deny her.

Feeling Alec shift with discomfort, Magnus held his hand, squeezing it a little. It seemed to be the encouragement Alec needed to speak up. “We were intercepted by the Shadowhunter. He… tried to mess with my head. H-he did it, actually. But it’s okay now.”

“That lying piece of toxic chemical waste,” Isabelle cursed and left her seat to kneel next to Alec. “What did he say to you?”

But Alec just shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I know he was lying. We-,” he stopped for a second, frowning just slightly, “Simon found my file. There’s everything in there. Where I’m from, what race I am… My family.”

Magnus felt his entire body freeze. Even from that poorly planned angle, he could see the seriousness on Alec’s features. But there was something else there too. Something that ran deeply in his hazel eyes as he watched Isabelle closely.

“So,” Jace said impatiently, though not unkindly. “Who were they?”

Alec looked at him. “Robert and Maryse Lightwood.” He turned back to Isabelle, who had brought a hand to cover her open mouth. “Iz, I’m not your cousin. I’m your brother.”

\---

As soon as they arrived at the Resistance base, Magnus was rushed to receive medical care. Alec didn’t leave his side, even as Catarina fussed over the wound on the Jedi’s torso. It was a nasty thing, all blood and burned tissue. 

The bacta had worked its magic and it appeared a little better than when they got to the ship, but Alec still felt lightheaded just to think what that shot could have done if it had hit Magnus properly. 

“Hey,” Magnus said once Catarina was done with the first procedures and had left them to gather more bandages. He grabbed Alec’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I’m fine. You should go be with your family.”

Alec shook his head. “They are not going anywhere.”

Magnus smiled fondly, though he was obviously tired. “Neither am I.” He could see that Alec wasn’t amused, so Magnus squeezed his hand. “I’m going to be perfectly fine in just a couple of hours, my darling. I promise. Now go be with your family, they have missed you for long enough.”

There was no disputing that, so Alec nodded begrudgingly and slowly let go of Magnus’ hand. Catarina was back and she flashed him a gentle smile as Alec excused himself and found his way to the corridor.

He almost wished he hadn’t, because Jace and Isabelle were waiting for him there. The problem wasn’t them, however, but the fact that they weren’t alone. General Luke was there with them and just the look on his face told Alec that he knew everything.

“Yes, I can see it now,” Luke said seriously. He had his arms crossed against his chest. None of them seemed to be aware that Alec was at the door. “He has a bit of both of them. But it makes no sense.”

Isabelle bit her lower lip. She had cried when Alec had told her they were siblings and her eyes were still puffy from it, but other than that, she had been suspiciously quiet about it. “I just… I remember thinking Alec looked just like my father when I first saw him. But how could it be that my parents never said they had another child?”

Luke shook his head. There was a grave expression on his face as he spoke. “Because they thought he was dead. Or, at least, that is what they told everybody. That their son was killed when the Circle left Alicante, after the Uprising. They asked me to never speak of it, because of the pain. I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Maybe someone else does,” Jace said in a somber tone. “Someone who was there and would have seen everything. He’d know what really happened to Alec.”

“No.” Luke’s voice left no space for protest. “He’s dangerous and you can’t trust him. Even if he betrayed the Circle, he’s never been on our side. I forbid you both from going after him.”

Alec chose that moment to make his presence known. “Hey,” he said quietly, walking to them. “Magnus is going to be okay. He just needs to rest.”

Luke nodded sharply. “Good. You all should do that too. Simon is working on the files you’ve got and matching the Circle’s crimes with their reports. It will take a while until we can use the information.” He threw one long look in Jace and Isabelle’s direction and then excused himself back to the commander center.

“How much did you hear?” Jace asked once Luke had disappeared. 

“Enough to know I want to find this guy. But how do we do that?” 

Isabelle smirked. There wasn’t a single shade of doubt in neither hers or Jace’s semblant. All the three of them had to do was exchange a glance to know they were going, orders be damned. “We follow the stench of cowardice to the trashiest bar we can find in the galaxy.”

It wasn’t difficult at all for them to get a small vessel and leave the base without much trouble. Jace was more than prepared to Jedi their way out, but it turned out all they needed was for Isabelle to tell the control tower she was taking her boys for a walk. Nobody said no to that.

Just like nobody said no to her when Isabelle landed next to Mos Eisley Cantina and stationed their vessel on the best spot of the place. It was clearly a common practice, especially when she cocked her head to the side and cracked her snake-shaped bracelet.

They walked into the bar without any problems, despite the questionable crowd in there. As soon as they scanned the unfamiliar faces, though, Alec felt Isabelle and Jace growing stiff at his sides. They both were looking at the same man, a hooded figure at the back of the bar, drinking by himself. 

“Is that him?” Alec asked, since neither of the others seemed to be ready to take a step.

Jace nodded. “That’s Hodge. We have to be careful around him, or he’ll disappear again. He doesn’t trust anyone.”

On the way there, Jace and Isabelle had explained to Alec that Hodge Starkweather had been a high ranked officer and one of the founder members of the Circle back when it was just a movement contained in Alicante. He had been close to both the Lightwoods and Valentine, but had left when the latter moved away from the planet. For some reason, years later, he had betrayed the Circle and left. Hodge had been on the run ever since.

“Maybe we should give him a sign that we’re here,” Isabelle suggested. “Show him that we mean no harm.”

“I’ll give him a sign,” Alec murmured through gritted teeth and moved. He got to the end of the bar before either Izzy or Jace could stop him and sat down in front of the mysterious man, startling him.

Hodge had probably been handsome in his youth, but time and a life in hiding had turned his eyes into desperate, ever flickering things. He had so many scars on his face Alec could hardly discern the shock in his features as the man stared at him, half in fear, half in awe.

“R-Robert…? No. Maryse.” Hodge blinked, too stunned to do more than whisper. “There’s a bit of Maryse in you. Who are you, boy?”

“We were hoping you could tell us that,” Jace said as he took the seat on Alec’s right side. “Hello, Hodge. Long time no see.”

It all happened in a second. One moment, Hodge seemed too mesmerized to move, but the sight of Jace brought him back to reality. His hand moved to the side of his body, where a blaster pistol hanged ready to be used.

Isabelle pressed her blaster into Hodge’s waist and kissed him on the cheek like one would do a parent. “So good to see you, Uncle Hodge. It’s been too long.”

Swallowing hard, Hodge laid both hands on the table. One of them was a made of metal and it looked as wrecked as the rest of him. Hodge looked from Isabelle to Jace, and then back at Alec. “Who are you?”

“Apparently, I’m a Lightwood,” Alec said, almost too casually. Funny how having Izzy and Jace with him gave him such a sense of serenity. “But that’s impossible because the son Maryse and Robert had was killed during the Uprising, whatever that is.”

Hodge narrowed his eyes at Alec, taking another long look. “I remember him,” Hodge shook his head once and then again, shutting his eyes closed. “A black haired boy with hazel eyes.” He looked up, green eyes sewed on Alec’s face. Hodge brought a shaky hand to touch his eyebrow. “He had a blank space on his left eyebrow and he never cried when I held him. He didn’t die.”

The touch was faint, almost like a brush of a ghost. Alec jerked away. “What happened to that boy?”

The man gasped and retrieved his hand. He opened his mouth, as if to start talking, but the circle drawn on his neck flickered. It took Alec a moment to realize it was one of the nephilim’s runes. 

Hodge winced and looked away. There was fear in him, but he also looked tired. Too tired to lie. “He took him. As revenge. He took the baby to punish the Lightwoods for leaving the Circle, for betraying him.”

“Wait, hold on a second.” Jace frowned deeply and raised a hand. “Robert and Maryse were members of the Circle? What?”

Isabelle had a fierce expression on her gorgeous face. “Stop lying. My parents would never be in league with Valentine. They fought against him during the Uprising. He almost killed them.”

A mocking grin crossed Hodge’s lips. “That is what they’d have you believe, of course. Robert and Maryse couldn’t have their children knowing the truth.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Alec interrupted Isabelle’s protests. “What the hell is the Uprising?”

“I don’t think they’ve taught you this in stormie school, buddy,” Jace said, his posture casual, his voice anything but, “the Uprising was the day nephilims fought nephilims, those who were pro Valentine’s ideas versus those who were against it. It happened a few years after Valentine created the Circle, because he didn’t make it as a Jedi knight. It was pretty popular among his generation. Back then, the idea was to create another Jedi Order, a better one. He called it the Order of the Shadowhunters.” He turned to Hodge, his face deadly serious. “The Lightwoods were never a part of it, though.”

But Alec had lost interest on the family drama. “How do you know that?” 

Jace shrugged. “Senator Herondale is my grandmother. She tells me things, sometimes. Other times I go through her stuff when she pays me a visit. I pieced it together.“

Alec rolled his eyes, focusing on the real issue. “The Supreme Leader can use the Force?”

Hodge sneered. “Barely. He’s too unstable, too prone to fits of rage. That was his undoing as a padawan.” He sighed and shook his head. “Whatever Maryse and Robert told you, it was a lie to protect their reputation. Back then, they weren’t too keen on Jedis. The monster was charismatic, he had always been, and he had Jocelyn on his side, but the Circle only gained real strength when Senator Robert and his wife joined it.”

The silence that followed was unnerving. Jace and Isabelle didn’t seem to believe the man, but neither was contradicting him, so Alec sighed. “Izzy said they fought against the Suprem- against Valentine in this Uprising. How did that happen? Why would they desert the Circle?”

In the midst of the scars and hardships on Hodge’s face, Alec saw something that seemed like sorrow. “Because they had you. Val-” The circle rune burned again and Hodge winced. “He had gone mad, talking about wiping out the Jedis. But Jocelyn had deserted him and Luke followed her. Maryse saw the monster’s wife and right hand turning on him and decided to pick the opposing side, right before the day that was henceforward known as the Uprising.”

Alec shook his head. “So they deserted too and Valentine took their son as revenge.”

“And raised him to be a stormtrooper,” Hodge said quietly. “Losing their baby broke Robert and Maryse. They erased every memory of him, every trace. Told everyone you had died. By the time Maryse was carrying Isabelle, nobody talked about it.”

Inhaling sharply, Alec straightened himself on the chair. He wished he had something to say, but his mind was blank. It was as if he was hearing a story about someone else, someone he didn’t know. A sad tale of a stolen boy and his broken family.

He felt a warm touch on his hand. Isabelle had hold it again, tighter this time. “You’re my brother,” she said, barely a whisper. “My brother,” she repeated, louder this time. She was shaking and sobbing, until Alec realized the tears were coming from his eyes.

It was true. It was all true. 

“We should get back now,” Jace said quietly. He grabbed Alec’s shoulder, holding it tight. The smile on his lips was only contained by a lifetime of training. “Come on, brother.”

Hodge shifted on his seat. “I’m going with you.” He spoke up before either Isabelle or Jace could protest. “I can’t… I can’t keep hiding. This is no life to live.” His flickering eyes stopped on Alec and for a second they seemed clear. “I-I… I remember the day he took you. I was there. I carried you away. I failed you. I won’t again.”

Alec knew without having to ask that the others didn’t believe Hodge. He knew that even Hodge didn’t believe himself. Lies and broken promises, they seemed to be everywhere. 

He was sick of it. “Alright,” Alec said. “You can come with us, but you will deliver yourself to General Luke. You’ll let him decide what to do with you.”

There was no way to know whether Hodge’s small nod was genuine or not. But if Alec started to distrust everyone and everything, if he took all the lies and falsehood that had been thrown his way as proof of how the galaxy worked, he’d never truly live a real life. 

Everyone on that table had been lied to, one way or the other. Everyone had distrusted each other, maybe even hated each other at some point. Alec knew he had. But now he could change that. He could take that leap of faith and know that, whatever he found on the other side, at least it would be honest. 

So that was what he was going to do. He was going to be honest and expect nothing else in return.

Both Isabelle and Jace nodded, backing him up, and Alec felt that he wasn’t alone in his decision.

\---

“That’s unexpected,” Magnus said when Alec was done telling him to where he’d gone and what he’d learned. Catarina had let him move to his own room to rest and Alec had showed up a few hours later, deep into the night, looking dashingly confident. It made even the slimy bandages on Magnus’ torso seem to disappear for a second. “Is Hodge with Luke now?”

Alec shrugged. They were sitting on Magnus’ bed, Alec on the very edge of it while Magnus was still covered with the sheets. Only by them, but not that Alec seemed to have noticed it. “I think so. Luke was not happy we went against his orders, but I think seeing Hodge made him forget that.”

It definitely would. There was no lost friendship there. “I’m sure Luke will make the right call, if Hodge is really sorry for what he did. And an even righter one if he isn’t.”

Nodding quietly, Alec looked at his hands. “Did I make the right choice bringing him here? Trusting him?”

Magnus arched his eyebrows at him, but then put a hand over Alec’s. “If you think you did, then you have your answer. Whatever Hodge did in the past, he’s told you the truth. He helped solve the mystery. It was kind to repay him with a second chance.”

“The mystery,” Alec said with a huff. “So my parents were Circle members until they had me and backed off. Valentine,” he forced the named out like one would rip off a bandage, “stole me as some sick form of revenge and they decided it was best to think I was dead. Ten years later, the Circle exploded them and the Jedi Order, which, by the way, was the thing that pissed off Valentine to begin with. Because he wasn’t strong enough to become a Jedi. Why does anyone want to be Force sensitive?”

“Comes in handy when you’re doing your hair in the morning.” Magnus shrugged and brushed the fingers of his free hand through Alec’s messy hair. “Not that it would help in your case, Alexander. This is beyond even the powers of the Force.”

Just as expected, the comment made Alec snort. “I heard Valentine is bald.”

Magnus gasped dramatically. “No wonder he’s so bitter. My hair is half of my personality; without it I’d only be petty.”

That made Alec full on laugh. “And kind. And brave. And smart.”

“Don’t stop there.” Magnus chuckled. His fingers slipped from Alec’s hair to his face, brushing his smooth pale skin.

He’d figured Alec was done talking and would fall into one of his introspective silences once more, but instead, Alec moved, turning to sit facing him. Their hands were still together, but now Alec had laced their fingers too. “You’re beautiful too. And not just because of your hair, though I like it. I like your eyes. I like them a lot.”

Magnus inhaled sharply, feeling goosebumps flower on his skin as Alec’s fingers brushed his hand gently. “Is there anything else you like?” Magnus asked, leaning forward just slightly.

“Your voice. Your mouth,” Alec whispered, smiling just enough when Magnus’ finger traced the way to his lips, touching them lightly. He was leaning forward too, crossing the space between them slowly. “I was afraid when you got hurt,” Alec admitted quietly.

“I was afraid when Sebastian got to you,” Magnus said in the same soft tone. It wasn’t a confession, nor was it a demand to know what had happened, because something did. He had felt the use of the Force, the way it had darkened around Alec. 

There was nothing dark about Alec now. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said and Magnus knew it was true.

The next thing he knew was that Alec’s lips were on his and that was all that mattered. Magnus gasped and kissed him back, pulling Alec closer by his chin. At first, it was a chaste gesture, just a touch, a caress. It grew stronger then, more meaningful as their tongues found each other. 

Magnus began laying back, pulling Alec to lay over him. They stayed like that, kissing and brushing each other’s face, holding each other’s hand. Until Alec stopped it in a sudden rush.

“Your wound, I-” he muttered, motioning to sit up.

But Magnus stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulder. With his other hand, the Jedi moved the bandage away, revealing perfectly healed skin. The Bacta had worked, and so did all of Catarina’s care. Together, they turned burned into tender and while Magnus still felt some discomfort on his side, he knew he was completely healed. 

“I told you I’d be fine,” Magnus said with a smile. “I’m magical like that. Don’t worry about hurting me.”

Alec narrowed his eyes at him and examined the place where the injury had been. The skin there was still a little different from the rest, but it would pass in a couple of days. “Okay. I just thought-” He stopped mid-sentence and frowned. “Wait, are you naked?”

Magnus giggled and shook his head. “That is not the right question, Alexander. The right question is ‘why aren’t _you_ naked?’”

That seemed to make Alec stop and ponder for a second. “I guess that’s entirely your fault, Master Jedi.”

There was something in the way Alec said that that made Magnus’ skin tingle. He smiled, bringing a hand to the rem of Alec’s shirt. “Are you sure you want this, my darling?”

Nodding, Alec stared at him with a compenetrate expression. “I know who is the man I want to do these things with and well, that’s you. If you want to do them with me too.”

“I do,” Magnus assured him, stealing a kiss as he removed Alec’s shirt. He laid his mouth over Alec’s exposed neck, kissing and biting and sucking on the tender skin. “I very much do.” Magnus smiled as he felt Alec’s hands travel down his body, touching and exploring as they traced their way to beneath the sheets. 

Alec moaned when Magnus bit him a little stronger than before. “Magnus, teach me,” he demanded, his fingers closing on Magnus’ half-hard cock.

Magnus gasped and started working on relieving Alec from his belt and pants. “Do it as if you’d do yourself.”

A short nod and Alec’s hand began moving, first slowly but then increasing in rhythm. Every stroke had a sureness to it and every reaction they provoked on Magnus strengthened it. Magnus was sure Alec was staring as he panted and moaned, those semiclosed hazel eyes fixed on his face, and that made everything that much more intense. His other hand had found Magnus’ and their fingers were back to lacing each other and that felt right. 

“Teach me more,” Alec said and nodded when Magnus brought a hand to brush over his lips in a veiled question. He moved, getting rid of the sheets and putting himself between Magnus’ legs. Magnus smiled as he watched Alec’s naked chest. It was a mess of hair and muscle, and he wanted to nudge his face against it. 

He’d do that later, because right now Alec’s mouth was closing on his cock, hot and wet, and Magnus lost track of any trail of thought for a second. His fingers grabbed on Alec’s hair as lips began moving. “Yes, my darling, You’re doing so great. So great. Go easy, get used to it.”

Alec did as told until he decided to try on more. His lips slipped on Magnus, swallowing more and more. Magnus helped him through it, praising him, teaching him, loving him. Alec added his tongue when he stopped, not all the way down, but Magnus didn’t think there was anything to complain about when all he felt was pleasure and happiness.

And then Alec moved again, mouth going open and down on him. Magnus wasn’t aware when his hips began moving too, matching the rhythm, and he didn’t care, not when he felt the vibration of Alec’s moan against his skin. 

“Alexander, I’m about to-” Magnus panted when he felt his climax coming and pulled on Alec’s hair to sign he should back away. But Alec didn’t let him, stubbornly increasing on what he was doing, adding a hand to the base of Magnus’ cock. 

Magnus came with a broken moan, hand holding Alec’s tight. He was still panting as Alec moved, laying on his side, half covering Magnus with his own body. His face was a mixture of pleasure and bliss with a dash of smugness.

It made Magnus snort. “Proud of ourselves, aren’t we?”

“You have no idea,” Alec said with a chuckle. He smiled when Magnus wiped away with his thumb the cum that was still lingering on his lower lip. 

Alec smiled even more when Magnus slipped an arm behind him, holding him by the waist and bringing a hand to squeeze his ass. It felt very much like Magnus thought it would. It was incredible how Alec managed to perfectly balance innocence and sexyness. His eyes were still shining with curiosity and his rosy lips were swollen and slightly set apart. It was a very kissable picture.

So Magnus pulled closer and kissed him. His hand continued to touch and squeeze Alec’s ass, his fingers finding the way to his entrance. Magnus stopped for long enough for Alec to nod against his lips, and he moaned deliciously when Magnus’ first finger slipped in.

The second finger didn’t take long to follow, not when Alec was squirming like that on top of Magnus. He grabbed on Magnus’ arms and shoulders, finger digging deep into skin. Every movement Magnus did drew another broken moan or a sharp gasp. Alec was so shamelessly responsive, it made everything a thousand times better.

Magnus felt it when Alec’s hard cock started throbbing against him when he carefully introduced a third finger. It was about the same time Alec cursed and called for Magnus, his voice barely louder than a whisper but still every bit as strong as a shout.

When Alec came, his entire body shivered. He demanded a kiss from Magnus with his own lips, a messy thing that Magnus was more than happy to comply to. They were both smiling when they finally just laid quietly, arms and legs all tangled around each other.

“I didn’t know it could feel like that,” Alec confessed after a few moments of comfortable silence. His head was laying on Magnus’ shoulder as Magnus played with his hair distractedly. 

“Well, if you enjoyed that,” Magnus said with a smirk, “wait until you find out how it feels to wake up besides someone else in your bed. It will blow your mind, Alexander.”

There was a sweet smile on Alec’s lips when he looked up to him. “I’m looking forward to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mysteries are solved, right? Malec is together, they have the info they need :D Everything is perfect!
> 
> I wonder why there are still four chapters to go, though.
> 
> Thank you so much for [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). Love you, babe <3 <3 <3
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> Before you start, pay attention to the tags.   
> Warnings: Death of Minor Character, and Blood and Violence.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry.

Magnus had been right; as much as Alec had enjoyed what they’d done the night before, waking up by Magnus’ side was his favorite part for sure.

There was something especial to it, as if the fact that Magnus was there, physically present, was the confirmation that whatever they had done, it meant something. Something that Alec hadn’t quite figured out what yet, but that he was willing to wait and find out. 

For now, just the warmth that came from Magnus was enough, though. The way Magnus was still holding him tight, and how their breathing seemed to have blended together into one. Just Magnus’ lazy smile as he slowly woke up was everything that Alec wished for.

So much so, Magnus had to literally kick him out of bed the next morning, otherwise Alec would have just staying in, no regrets. “Come on, Alexander,” Magnus said with a smirk, “I’d love to teach a few more things but we still have a job to do.”

He had been right, as Magnus often were. After they took a shower, - together, because apparently that saved water even though Alec was pretty sure he had never taken that long to shower by himself -, the two of them found the others having breakfast. Isabelle hugged Alec tight and he almost felt inclined to point out they had seen each other the day before.

Instead, Alec just hugged her back. That was something he could get used to doing.

“I’m not hugging you, buddy,” Jace announced as Alec took the place between him and Izzy. “Unless you really want to, then I might.”

“You’re such a sap,” Clary teased him, but her fond smile softened the mockery.

That was the moment S1-M0N would have some not so witty quip to make, but the droid was just staring into nothing, quiet as a stone. “What’s up with him?” he asked eventually.

Tapping on S1-M0N’s driver, Izzy smiled. “He’s decodifying all the files we’ve stolen. While you were busy exploring your boyfriend, big bro, we were exploring Circle’s data. Most of it is encrypted, but Simon will get through it sooner or later, after the code Clary put on him. Good old Simon will be back any minute now.”

“Too bad,” Alec said with a sigh, making Jace snort.

Magnus smiled and landed a hand on Alec’s shoulders. “You children have fun. I’m going to see what the grown-ups are up to on this most radiant morning.”

Jace rolled his eyes so dramatically at his former master, Alec was afraid he’d lose them. “Yes, Magnus. You guys had sex. We got it. No need to rub it on ours faces like you probably did to Al-”

“Rub what?” another voice called and Jace shut his mouth immediately when he saw Max staring at them.

With a light squeeze on Alec’s shoulders, Magnus turned away and left. The lucky bastard was gone before any of them could come up with an age appropriate explanation. Thankfully, Max sighed and just pushed both Alec and Izzy so he’d fit between them.

He turned to Alec once he was sitting and had munched most of Izzy’s cereals. His eyes were narrowed, studying every inch of Alec’s face. “Izzy said you’re our brother too,” he said, not in a question, nor an accusation. It was just a blank statement.

“Yes, I am.” Alec wasn’t sure how to respond. The boy’s bluntness made him comfortable, though. It was easier to deal with the whole situation if he knew where he was stepping on and Max was not one for hiding anything.

“Does that mean you don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to teach me how to shoot?” Max blinked, clearly anxious for the answer. “Izzy is teaching me how to pilot, so you can teach me how to shoot.”

Alec smiled. “That’s exactly what it means.”

Max grinned, his big eyes shining. “Cool! I can’t wait!” He munched on more cereals, but then an idea crossed his mind and he rushed to speak with a full mouth. Isabelle had to pat him on his back when he gagged, but Max powered through it. “You’re dating Magnus, right? That means he has to teach me how to fight with a lightsaber as well!”

“Not sure about that,” Alec said diplomatically. “But I can ask him.”

“Do we have more siblings lost in the galaxy?” Max asked Isabelle in a pleading tone. 

She laughed. “I don’t think so, but we can always ask.” Isabelle looked over to where Hodge had been quietly watching the scene. Luke had reluctantly decided to give him a second chance after all, although Hodge still slept on a cell and was closely monitored all the time. “Hey, uncle Hodge,” Isabelle raised her voice, “do we have more siblings floating around?”

Hodge startled, eyes running through the room as if looking for a hidden attacker. That was the image of a man who had lost his trust in the world, who expected every second to be the start of an ambush. 

Alec was determined not to follow down that path.

“No,” Hodge finally answered, in that rushed tone of his. “There were only three siblings.”

“Four,” Isabelle corrected him without missing a heartbeat. “Jace is my brother too. I don’t care what his last name is.”

Max opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask Jace for something as well, but then he reconsidered, looking to Clary. “Are you dating Jace?”

The girl’s face became as red as her hair. It was funny to see Clary that perturbed, considering she usually had an answer ready for everything. “I-I, hm… We-”

“She can teach you how to build a droid, Max,” the Jedi interfered as calmly as he managed. If Alec didn’t know better, he’d say there was an edge to Jace’s voice. “Anything else you’d like to learn? Piloting, shooting, fighting with a lightsaber, building a droid. That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

Shrugging, Max grabbed the toast Alec was finishing. “I can do it.”

Alec wondered if he ever felt as naturally confident as Isabelle and Max did. Maybe if he had been brought up like they were, he’d be just as outspoken, as self-assured. Either way, Alec was glad they were there. Jace too. Whatever connection he had with them didn’t feel changed for knowing he was their brother; if anything, the revelation served to confirm something Alec had been feeling for awhile now. 

He loved them, with all his being. It didn’t matter if he didn’t feel like a rebel, or if he still had doubts about his place in the universe. Jace, Izzy and even little Max were there to guide him through his heritage and help him shape the man he wanted to be. 

“Oh,” S1-M0N said in a small voice, moving slowly while all the lights of his body stopped blinking. “I think I cracked it.” He brought a hand to his speaker device. “No, I’m sure. Positive.”

Isabelle stood up. “Do you have the files?”

The droid nodded fervently. “Not only do I have them, I’ve found the algorithm to link each report on attacked planets to the respective stormtroopers. There isn’t any direct reference, but every time an attack happens, the number of children listed as dead is the same number of new stormtroopers from each planet. Suspicious much?”

“Brilliant!” Clary exclaimed and hugged S1-M0N tightly.

“All in a day’s work. Well, half a day. More like ten hours and fifty eight minutes. But who’s counting really?”

Jace and Alec exchanged a concerned look. Isabelle was staring at them as well; her face was a serious mask. “Is that enough, though?” Jace asked what they were all wondering.

“If I testify, then it should be,” Alec said somberly. 

He had been thinking about it, even before he had said yes to the mission. The Circle would never have reports openly stating their crimes. The Supreme Leader was too smart, he would have cover his tracks, concealed the information in a manner only his officials would know how to find. The Clave had time and again made audits to find vestiges of the crimes Luke accused them of. Nothing was found.

But never before a stormtrooper testified. It was unheard of and it could change everything. 

“That means facing Valentine,” Clary voiced what everyone was thinking.

Alec nodded. That was the real problem. Alec couldn’t even imagine what it was to be in the presence of the Supreme Leader, let alone openly accuse him of crimes. He had always been afraid of General Aldertree and the Shadowhunter, although lately fear had turned into anger. But as powerful as they were, both were still a person. 

Valentine Morgenstern was an entity by himself. He was above anything and anyone, a living myth. If Alec had feared the others, he was terrified of him. 

However, looking at the faces surrounding him, it was enough to consider the idea of being brave. They made the choice not really a choice, but a duty. If Alec could provide the information that would stop the Circle, that would save other children, that would end the ongoing war and make the people he loved safe, then he would.

He looked at Max, who was staring at everyone, not quite sure of what was happening, but definitely affected by the serious expressions. Alec smiled simply and laid a hand on his little brother’s shoulder, immediately feeling his tension dissipate under his touch. “I can do it.”

“Then let’s tell General Luke to contact the Clave,” Isabelle said and her faith in him was all that Alec needed to know he had told the truth.

\---

They left the very next day. 

Magnus hadn’t been happy when Alec told General Luke his plan to testify, but there was no changing Alec’s mind once he had decided on something. It was equally infuriating and endearing. 

If he couldn’t talk Alec out of it, then Magnus would make sure he was there when Alec faced the man who had destroyed his childhood and broken his family. Luke had no problem accepting that, but he had firmly denied it when Hodge barged into the meeting room saying he wanted to go too. Alec, on the other hand, had immediately backed him up and even made a point that Hodge’s testimony could be as useful as his, as a former Circle-member. He had no counter argument when Luke said Hodge couldn’t be trusted, though.

In the end, it was Magnus who had settled the matter. By himself, Hodge could do very little to hurt them, especially with all three of them there to watch him. But he could present a huge problem for Valentine, if he opened his mouth. Luke had reluctantly admitted it was true.

And that was how Magnus found himself co-piloting a ship to the base of the Clave. Luke had been a decent pilot in his time and there was no need for Isabelle to be there, despite her best claims. She’d get over the blow of being dismissed soon, Magnus figured. 

Jace wouldn’t. When he was denied entry in the ship, the Jedi had been furious. Especially because Clary and S1-M0N boarded it and he wouldn’t be there if they needed him. It wasn’t ideal, but Magnus was more than enough to protect three people and a droid. 

So it was decided. While Magnus and Luke piloted the ship, Alec sat down with Hodge, Clary and S1-M0N, going through the documents they had gathered and reviewing what he would have to say. It wouldn’t be easy and Magnus wished he could focus in preparing Alec as well, but there was only so much he could do.

“My name is Alexander Lightwood,” Alec whispered, almost as a prayer, “and I was stolen from my family and made a stormtrooper.”

The words hurt, but they also meant hope. By sharing his story, Alec might be able to put an end to a tyrant’s reign. The Clave needed proof, but if Senator Imogen Herondale was convinced, they would follow her. It was their best shot, along with the documents.

“-and I was stolen from my family and made a stormtrooper. My name is Alexander Lightwood and-”

“Gideon,” Hodge said out of a sudden, causing Alec to startle. When nobody said anything, Hodge cleared his throat. “Alexander Gideon Lightwood. The Lightwoods always give two names to their children. Gideon Lightwood was a prominent member of the Clave once. He started a new policy for the family when the Lightwood name was often linked to corruption. It suits you to carry his legacy.”

Magnus looked at Luke, who nodded in confirmation. He didn’t want to say anything; it was Alec who had the final word on how he wanted to be called.

Alec nodded after a short moment of consideration. “My name is Alexander Gideon Lightwood and I was stolen from my family and made a stormtrooper.”

“Maybe you should add a few of your incredible feats, darling,” Magnus said at last, when the moment grew too tense. “Like being the best sniper in the galaxy. Shooting the Shadowhunter. Sleeping with the last Master Jedi.”

It made Alec snort. “That’s not the order of importance I’d put it.”

Luke sighed, though the small smile on his lips softened the harshness he was going for. “No flirting on a mission.”

“You’ve been stuck in the base for too long, my friend. Everyone knows flirting is 60% of every mission.” Magnus rolled his eyes, but smirked nonetheless. “Otherwise, what is the point?”

Clary giggled as Luke just glared unimpressed at Magnus while the Jedi offered him an innocent grin. But then her giggles turn into a gasp of horror. “What is that?” Clary asked, pointing to something beyond their ship’s window. 

There was no time to answer the question. If Isabelle had been with them, the ruby of her necklace would had pulsed, warning them of what was to come. Unfortunately, she was left behind and so, when the the Circle’s Finalizer exited the lightspeed, colliding with their smaller ship, all they could do was brace themselves.

Magnus was flung to the back of the ship, but he managed to ease the impact for everybody else. It was a miracle that their ship hadn’t exploded with the crash, but there was little time to celebrate the fact that they were still alive at all. The Finalizer had locked them and was slowly pushing their much smaller vessel inside.

“Prepare to fight!” Luke commanded, throwing Alec a blaster. “Someone in the Clave must have told Valentine we were on our way.” He gave Clary another gun, but the extra one he had did not find its way into Hodge’s hands. “We fight to flee. Clary, Simon, you two get us out of here. Magnus, Alec, we attack.”

Magnus grabbed his lightsaber and positioned himself in front of the group, just in case they started shooting. It wasn’t likely, not when they could’ve just destroyed them and instead elected to capture their ship. But with Clary vulnerable in the pilot seat, he couldn’t risk it.

A loud bang told them the Circle had their ship stuck inside. Magnus could hear the movement outside, as stormtroopers prepared to start firing as soon as they had managed to open the vessel’s doors. He closed his eyes, calming his mind.

Alec stepped forward, standing right beside Magnus with his blaster ready to shoot. “They tied the ship up. We need to get it loose.”

“Loosening things up is my specialty,” Magnus said with a wink.

Rolling his eyes, Alec gestured vaguely to the right. “If I have a clear shot to the command center, I can blow up the locking system. Cover me.”

“I’ll cover you two,” Luke said, “get out, blow them up and get back here.”

They didn’t get a chance to say anything as the door was opened and Luke started shooting blindly. Only a handful of stormtroopers were hit, though; most of them were positioned outside of his range. And they were shooting too.

Magnus pushed Alec behind himself and blocked the blasts as well as he could, but there was no way for them to jump to the hangar without getting hit. Unless they had a way to distract them.

“Biscuit!” Magnus shouted out. “Blow up a ship. Any ship!”

The girl blinked, but didn’t waste any more time. Clary grabbed the controls and turned their canon around. She blasted the nearest TIE Fighter, sending the nearest contingent of stormtroopers flying and successfully stopping the shooting. 

Alec and Magnus jumped together. The paralyzing surprise would end at any time, so they moved as quickly as they could towards the command center. If they got too far away from their ship, though, there would be no way back, but from that distance Alec wouldn’t be able to make the shot. A few feet more and they’d be in the perfect position. 

But then Magnus felt his body being pushed sideways and he lost his balance. Alec yelled his name, but the pull of the Force was all that he heard as he was thrown through the hangar. And then there was something else.

“Don’t think I’ll let you live this time,” the Shadowhunter said once Magnus had collapsed against a wall.

Magnus coughed and wiped the drops of blood from his lips. “I could say the same,” he said and, without giving time for Sebastian to answer, Magnus attacked. That boy would pay for what he’d done to Alec.

Without Jace, though, Sebastian didn’t have to worry about a two-front assault. He had room to exchange blows against Magnus instead of only defending himself, and the Shadowhunter was a master with a lightsaber.

But so was Magnus. They fought, spinning around each other, graceful attacks meeting violent slashes. Everything on their way was cut in half and no matter how many times Magnus jumped and skirted, Sebastian was on him, a choleric force of evil that seemed unstoppable. A raging angel of death. A nephilim in all his glory.

Which meant, Magnus realized suddenly, that he wasn’t thinking straight. And if there was one thing Magnus could do well, it was outthinking nephilims.

A smirk spread through his lips and only that alone confused Sebastian enough for him to hesitate. He probably wasn’t accustomed to fight smiling opponents, or anyone that wasn’t terribly afraid of him. He probably wasn’t accustomed to a head on attack either, considering how very few people in the galaxy would be crazy enough to do such thing.

So that was what Magnus did and his lightsaber found no obstacles to slash through Sebastian’s black clothing, right across his chest. Magnus kicked him as the Shadowhunter lost his balance, falling on his back with shriek of pain.

Spinning on his heels, Magnus ran back to where Alec was. Without Magnus, Alec had to fend for himself and was using the other ships in the hangar as a cover. But he wasn’t alone.

Hodge was with him, a blaster in hand and shooting. Together, they were able to push away most of the stormtroopers, but Magnus could see one white hat approaching unseen. And he wouldn’t be able to get to them in time.

“Behind you!” Magnus shouted, desperate.

Alec was the first to hear him. He looked at Magnus, his face the mask of relief in seeing him alright. Magnus wanted to scream as the stormtrooper contoured the ship Alec had as a cover and pointed his blaster at him.

The blast sounded, deafening in the midst of chaos, but it never hit Alec. Hodge flung himself between the blaster and Alec’s head, blocking the shot. 

He was already dead when his body hit the floor. Alec moved, grabbing the blaster from the stormtrooper and hitting him with the handler end. And then again, and again, and again. 

When Magnus reached them, the stormtrooper’s helmet was twisted to the inside, but Alec was still hitting him. The blaster had broken in his hands, but it didn’t stop his fury. There were no tears in his eyes, no emotions but for pure hatred.

Magnus laid a hand on Alec’s back. “Alexander,” he whispered. “He’s dead.”

“I know,” Alec hissed, though Magnus wasn’t sure if they meant the same person. 

But there was no time to make sure. Magnus gritted his teeth and pushed Alec’s blaster into his hands. He was surprised when Alec didn’t fight him and just grabbed it. The rage was gone from him, but Alec’s hazel eyes, always so warm, were cold as ice. 

They turned to the command center. Luke was still shooting from the ship and he managed to open a clear path for them.

“Come on!” Magnus said and Alec and he sprinted as their General opened fire again. 

“Cover me,” Alec shouted when they got close enough, and he stopped to aim. Magnus had the time to turn his back to him before he saw Aldertree walk into the hangar, followed by more white hats. But he was too late.

Alec pulled the trigger and blasted the command center. In the next second, their ship was freed. Magnus grabbed Alec by the shoulder and pulled him to its direction, running as fast as he could, eyes torn between Luke reaching out for them and Aldertree barking orders to his stormtroopers.

Only then did Magnus realize they weren’t carrying normal blasters. Two of them were working on a laser bazooka and it was not pointing at them.

“Fuck,” Alec cursed at the same time they shot, not in Magnus and Alec’s direction, but towards the Resistance ship. 

The force of the explosion set them flying. This time, Magnus only registered the pain of crashing against the floor. Alec had fallen next to him, face first. There was blood all around his head and his eyes were shut close.

Magnus looked up and watched as their ship burst into flames and fell down from the hangar into the deep and vast nothing.

And then he closed his eyes and let numbness take him.

\---

Pain was the first thing Alec felt when he woke up. Excruciating pain.

The second thing he felt were the tight cuffs immobilizing his arms and legs. Alec didn’t have to wake up to know he was in one of the Circle’s interrogation cells. He had never been in one of those, not for guarding a prisoner or anything else, but those cells were pretty famous among the stormtroopers. 

Guarding one was a very easy job, though usually short. Prisoners rarely lasted more than a couple of days and all a stormtrooper had to do was stand by the door and pretend not to hear the screams. It was impossible for anyone to escape it and even if it was possible, prisoners that were interrogated quickly grew too weak to try.

The Circle was going to extract every bit of information Alec could possibly have. And then, they were going to kill him, slowly and painfully. A traitor’s death.

Alec sighed. The left side of his head was pulsing from the impact, but he couldn’t afford to think of that. He had to remember what happened before it. An explosion, yes. They exploded the ship.

Was Luke dead? Clary? Simon?

Hodge was. Alec remembered that clearly. After the Shadowhunter flung Magnus away, Alec had barely managed to find cover before the stormtroopers opened fire on him. If Hodge hadn’t appeared from nowhere and got rid of the closest ones, Alec wouldn’t have survived the fight. 

“Go back to the ship,” Alec had grunted. Hodge had no blaster, no way to defend himself. Being in the middle of the crossfire was suicide. 

Still, he had looked straight into Alec’s eyes and shook his head in one sure motion. “No,” Hodge had said. “I told you I wasn’t going to fail you again.”

And he hadn’t. Alec had been too distracted by the fact that Magnus had survived a one-on-one combat with the Shadowhunter to even hear the shot that had killed Hodge. If it wasn’t for him, it would’ve been Alec’s corpse on the cold floor. Maybe it should’ve been.

Alec snorted. Dying while fighting would have been a much kinder death than the one he was going to face. At least it would’ve been quick.

He opened his eyes, looking at the room. It wasn’t much different from every other cell, but for the holding device on where Alec had been laid down. It didn’t feel colder, or more ominous. In fact, the place looked very much like the medical wing. 

It was ironic that a single litter could radically change a room’s purpose. Had Alec been sent to the infirmary, he’d be out in one day, two at most. His head still hurt, but it was nothing that a good night of sleep couldn’t fix. But Alec would never get one.

Closing his eyes, he allowed the tear that was burning his eyes to shed. He’d never get another night of sleep because even if they allowed him to live after they were done with him, Alec would need Magnus there with him. It was the only way. But if Magnus was lucky, he was already dead.

It hurt, to wish that Magnus was gone. But if he wasn’t, if the Circle had him… Whatever would happen to Alec, it would be ten times worse for him. Alec was a traitor, but he wasn’t a threat. Magnus was, maybe not one as big as General Luke, just in a different way.

The Shadowhunter wouldn’t just kill Magnus. He would-

Alec gritted his teeth. Magnus had to be dead. Please, let him be dead. Please, don’t let they hurt him. Please.

The door opened without warning, but Alec couldn’t see who had walked in. Whoever it was, they took their time to get to the other end of the room, to where Alec was facing. He could hear their steps and whenever they typed on the screen. 

Finally, General Aldertree stopped at Alec’s side. “AL-2352,” he read from a screen he carried.

“My name is Alec Lightwood.”

“Of course,” Aldertree said with a sigh. He put the screen away and looked at Alec. “You have a name now. An identity. Is that why you’ve betrayed us? So you could find out who you are?”

Alec stared back at him. It was the first time he had ever been so close to the General, the first time he could actually see him. Victor Aldertree was a handsome man, maybe a few years older than Alec. He had a scruffy beard and empty, cold eyes. Alec wasn’t impressed. “No. It was to protect those I care about.”

Aldertree nodded and the way he did it almost seemed like he understood where Alec was coming from. “Do you see them as your family now? The rebels?”

“Izzy and Max are my family.” Alec indicated the screen with his chin. “If you don’t believe me, it’s on my file.”

“I know it is. The Supreme Leader never hid that from me. He had big plans for you, once you had proven your loyalty.” Aldertree pushed his lips together and there was sadness in his face. “You had a brilliant future ahead of you. The plan was to make you second in command of the stormtrooper army, a few years from now. Two, three at most. That used to be your dream, wasn’t it?”

Alec had nothing to say to that, but his silence didn’t discourage the General. “But you threw it all away. Even if I wanted to give you a second chance, the Shadowhunter isn’t very forgiving of those who shoot him.” Aldertree shook his head. “And it was all for nothing. Luke Garroway is dead and the Resistance died with him. All we have to do it collect the corpses, so if you could tell us where the base is, I can promise you a painless death. It is my best offer, Alec.”

There wasn’t a shade of regret on Alec’s face as he stared silently at Aldertree. 

“If you think you are protecting anyone by refusing to cooperate, you should know it is not so,” Aldertree said when it became clear Alec was not going to talk. “We will find the base sooner or later. I’ll make sure Isabelle and Max Lightwood are the first to die. Or, I can bargain a deal with the Supreme Leader. By themselves, they are not a problem. I’m sure I can-”

“If you think I will believe your lies,” Alec said, interrupting him, “you should know it is not so.”

Anger flashed through the general’s face for just a second, but it was enough to shatter his mask of amicability. Aldertree collected himself. “There is no way out for you. I can’t let a rogue stormtrooper live. But I can make your death painless, if you cooperate. I’ll let you sleep on it.”

Alec frowned. “What?”

Sighing again, Aldertree picked up the screen and turned to the exit. “Contrary to what you believe, I do not look forward to hurting you. If you can bring yourself to tell us where the Resistance base is, it will be best for everyone involved. I know it is a difficult decision, so I’ll give you the night to make it.”

With that, the general walked away, leaving Alec in a bemused state. He had been sure they were going to torture him, even before making questions. The Circle would want revenge, not simply his cooperation. It didn’t make sense.

Aldertree’s steps stopped before he got out of the room. “Oh, one more thing,” he said, and now that Alec couldn’t see his expression, the glee in his tone was much clear, even if it was hidden behind a layer of false-sympathy. “Sleeping might prove to be a bit harder than you think. It can be very noisy down here. Tell me where the Downworlder Resistance base is tomorrow and the noise will stop.”

The door closed before Alec could make sense of the words’ meaning. There were no noises in the room before Aldertree’s visit and there was only silence when he left. 

But then the screams began and Alec felt like his heart had just been stabbed. The voice was faint and broken, and it came from the speakers, filling the room and making everything feel distorted. It didn’t stop, not when Alec began shaking, desperately trying to break free, not when Alec begged for them to stop, not when it was so unbearable that Alec couldn’t think of anything else. 

And then silence. Utterly deafening silence. But it didn’t last long.

When Magnus screamed again, so did Alec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm sorry. 
> 
> The hugest thank you for the wifey and best friend someone could ever have [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). Love you so much, babe <2
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :D
> 
> Things have to get worse before they get better, okay?
> 
> Warning: Torture. Forced drug use.
> 
> Also; hope.

“Hello,” Aldertree said cheerfully as he walked into the cell room. 

Alec moved his head, opening up his eyes. He had been drifting between reality and unconsciousness for hours, and only in one of them Alec kept hearing Magnus’ screams. At some point, Magnus’ voice had vanished, though it didn’t mean anything. Alec wasn’t sure the cries had ended because they had stopped torturing him or because Alec had passed out from exhaustion. 

Neither option seemed good.

Still, Magnus wasn’t screaming now and hours had passed since Alec woke up. Six, maybe eight. There were no sounds besides of Alec’s ragged breathing and the rustle of Aldertree adjusting his gloves. 

Alec’s mind was going a thousand miles per hour. There were so many rumours of what happened in those rooms, and each one of them started with that same sadistic ritual. Aldertree would pose some trivial questions, pretend to be amicable and reasonable. At some point, everything would change and the horror would begin.

“Is he alive?” Alec asked, before the general could start his show. He didn’t even try to keep the desperation out of his voice. He didn’t care. Only one thing mattered.

Aldertree stared at him for a while, as if deciding what to say. He cocked his head to the side and smiled gently. “For now, yes. Your Jedi is stronger than he looks.”

Whatever Aldertree said next sounded just like noise to Alec. Magnus was alive. He was alive. They hadn’t been able to break him. Somewhere in that ship, Magnus was alive and still fighting.

Alec shut his eyes, breathing that in. If Magnus had survived, if he had endured the rage of the Shadowhunter, then Alec could do the same. He would survive too, and he would get out of that cell. Magnus was just a few doors away. He could find him, and they would find their way out together. 

Izzy and Max were still out there. Jace would want revenge. They would come back, regrouped and stronger, to avenge General Garroway and-

“Are you listening to me?” Aldertree asked all of a sudden, sounding annoyed. He grabbed Alec by the chin, forcing them to face each other.

Alec glared at him, feeling invigorated by the strength running through his body. “Not a single word.”

It was not the right thing to say, of course. The general gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes at him. “I asked whether you had decided to cooperate or not. Tell me the location of the base and you won’t have to spend another night listening to the Jedi’s screams. Tell me,” Aldertree painted his voice with gentleness, “and all the pain will go away.”

“Whose pain?” Alec kept his eyes on him, staring unwavering. “Mine? Magnus’?” His voice grew lower; smooth as silk, sharp as a blade. “And for what? So you could hurt Izzy and the others?” The fear had turned into contempt. “Fuck you. And fuck the Circle.”

Aldertree sighed and one could even take that as disappointment. Alec was surprised to realize he didn’t care. A life time ago, the mere thought of disappointing General Aldertree would have knocked the air out of him. It felt like an accomplishment now. “Wrong answer, AL-2352.”

Alec moved his head, getting his chin out of Aldertree’s grip. “That’s not my name.” 

“When I’m done with you,” the general said, gloved fingers brushing Alec’s face, tracing the edges from his temple to his chin. The touch was slick and cold, but only for a second. Then, it burned. “Your name won’t matter anymore.”

The tail of fire ran down Alec’s face, licking his skin as Aldertree’s fingers kept brushing down to his neck, where Max had drawn the block rune. Aldertree sneered. “Oh, yes. You are from Alicante, the son of the proud Lightwood family. Did anyone ever told you your family symbol?” He traced the rune and Alec winced, fingers digging into the metal chair. “Fire.”

Was that a joke? Alec only had time to shot a glare to Aldertree’s direction, but then a hand was on his neck, burning and crushing. Alec gritted his teeth, determined not to scream. When his teeth never touched, however, he realized he was already howling.

But then it stopped. The fire was on Aldertree’s glove and the general stared at his fingers, looking mildly bored. Alec panted, eyes widening as he tried to understand what had happened to him. There was fire, he was sure of it. It burned, the excruciating pain radiating from the contact. How could it be gone like that?

“Tell me where they are,” Aldertree said again. He had taken out his glove and was now filling a syringe with a translucid silver liquid. “Please.”

Alec closed his eyes, realizing he felt like crying despite the lack of tears. “No.”

The general sighed. Alec felt a cold and smooth superficial rub against the interior of his arm and then the prickle of a needle. His eye shut open just before the last of the silver liquid was injected into his body. 

“I know the rumors about me,” Aldertree said, calmly. “I’m sure you do too.”

The effect was immediate. First, Alec lost control of his legs. He tried kicking, shaking, moving. Anything. There was no response. The numbness creeped up, past his hip and to his torso. Alec’s fingers stopped shaking and he loosened up his grip on the metal chair. He had time to look up until he couldn’t even feel his neck anymore.

But he was still conscious, still aware. Only he couldn’t move.

“They say I poisoned all the ones that opposed me or that were a threat to my ascension to the top of the Circle’s army. They are not wrong, but they are not entirely right. Yes, some of them had to die, but I never poisoned anyone. I treated them, got rid of some of their worst symptoms. Numbed their sense of greed or pride. Sometimes their respiratory system.” Aldertree took out a pen and ran it through Alec’s naked skin. Nothing. “It works. It always does. I found the perfect anaesthetic, universal in the most literal sense of the word. Watch this.”

There was a click of a button and then the metal cuffs were open. Alec was free, he could just get up, knock Aldertree down and ran. Find Magnus. If only he could move.

The sick pride was all over Aldertree’s face as he watched Alec’s motionless body. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Thank you, Alec. You’re my first nephilim subject, and I have been wanting to test it on one of our kind for years. It’s a great breakthrough for research to know it works with us too.”

“However, it won’t last forever. I found out the effects wear off after a couple of hours.” Aldertree put down the pen and the syringe, cocking his head to the side. “There is one interesting side effect, though: is that it is addictive. But that works in my favor as well, you see. Even after the first dose’s effect is gone, your body will be urging for more. And I’ll give you more, I promise.”

The general produced a clean piece of fabric and wiped out the sweat from Alec’s temple expertly. “Before long, nothing will be more important to you than the next dose. I’ll get my answers then.”

Aldertree smiled, and there was nothing of his gentle persona in there. “Enjoy free will while it lasts, Alec.”

\---

The first thing Magnus did when he woke up was gasp for air. It took him more than a minute to realize that the wet layer around his body was sweat and not water. There was no water around him. No lake. 

He wasn’t drowning. This was real. 

A shiver ran down Magnus’ body as recollection took over his mind. That same room, the restraints biting against his skin as Magnus pulled all he had into escaping them, and for no use. He had tried moving them with the help of the Force, but the cuffs didn’t move. Then Magnus had tried calling the stormtrooper on the other side of the door, but they clearly had been instructed not to be alone with him.

The room offered nothing, not one thing that Magnus could use to escape. And he had too. What if they had let Alec bleed to death? What if they hadn’t and now he was stuck in a room like that?

Those questions had vanished when the door opened and revealed Sebastian, in his mockery of a costume. He had gone back to hiding behind his mask, maybe in hope of looking menacing, but Magnus could see through it. The Force had poured from the boy, wild and ferocious. He was powerful with the Force, yes, but it consumed him. Made him reckless and overconfident. Magnus had bested him before and he would again, as soon as he got rid of those metal cuffs. Maybe he could anger Sebastian into wanting to fight him? Appeal to his pride as a Shadowhunter?

Magnus would never know. Before he could even open his mouth, Sebastian had already pulled into his mind. All he could do not to succumb was fight back, willing the Force to shield himself. The battle was an even one, pure strength against experience and control. 

But even in chains, Magnus was stronger. Sebastian had gasped and taken a step aside when his attempt failed. It was then that the Shadowhunter had resorted to a new kind of power; inflicting pain. He hadn’t attacked, not exactly. All Sebastian had done was press his lightsaber against Magnus’ skin and then there was no way Magnus was able to concentrate enough to push him away.

It was how Magnus found himself drowning, water creeping inside his nose, his mouth. Filling his lungs and expelling away all the air. Magnus couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard he tried, so he had screamed.

There was no goal to it, despite causing pain. Sebastian had posed no questions, offered no way out. It was a sick revenge, a retribution for their fight. Drowning was a slow way to die, one that overcame all of Magnus’ senses. He had forgotten that there was no possible way for that room to be filled with water, forgotten that Sebastian wouldn’t sacrifice himself in order to kill him.

For hours, all Magnus knew was that there was no air. He screamed and struggled against the cuffs, and screamed some more. He needed help, from anyone, even if the word wouldn’t form in his lips. He had to breathe.

At some point, he must have passed out. The Shadowhunter wasn’t there anymore and aside from Magnus’ clothes, everything was as dry it had been before. That was Magnus’ only solace. Just thinking that water could creep in from the walls, clogging his breathing-

_Don’t let your senses overwhelm your mind_ , Master Ragnor always said. _You have a good heart, my friend, and you’re perceptive and sensible to your surroundings. But we fight with our heads._

“Our heads,” Magnus whispered and closed his eyes. He breathed in, filling his lungs with air. It still hurt, even though the whole thing had happened only in Magnus’ mind. The only physical pain came from where the lightsaber had kissed him, but what hurt the most was his mind. 

Magnus inhaled again. Two more times, three. When he was certain nothing could stopped him from breathing, Magnus began to calm his senses. Ragnor had been right, he relied too much on his senses, on what he felt. He had to think.

What had Ragnor said about thinking? _I know it doesn’t come naturally to you, but try applying logic to the situation._

Logic. Manus huffed, rolling his eyes. There was no logic to Sebastian’s actions, or not one that made sense at least. Magnus wondered if it was because he had slashed the Shadowhunter in half. If only he had pulled with more strength, then Sebastian would be dead.

_Regrets lead to bitterness, Magnus. Nobody likes you when you are bitter. It is not as charming as you think it is._

“Oh, shut up, Ragnor,” Magnus hissed. “I don’t have to listen to you anymore; you’re not my master.” He gasped, feeling his throat clog. “And you left me. You said I didn’t need you anymore and you left me. But I do.”

A shiver ran down Magnus’ body. Ragnor’s face was starting to fade from his memory, the details of it. He could still see the wrinkles around Ragnor’s eyes when he smiled, but his traces were blurred. So many years had passed since they last saw each other, but not enough to erase Ragnor’s image from his mind. It couldn’t be.

Magnus sniffed, locking the tears inside. “You left. You said you were my friend and you still left. Why? Even if I am ready to be a Jedi, I’m not ready to be alone.”

He could hear Ragnor’s scornful huff. _Alone? You wouldn’t be alone if you tried. Magnus, you are a terrible Jedi, the worst padawan one could ever have. You gave me much more trouble than you are worth. But you are the best person I know. Look around you, my friend. You’re not alone. You burn too bright, like a beacon of the Light itself. You bring others who had chosen the path of light to you. Darkness will never touch you, Magnus, unless you let it._

But Luke was dead. Magnus had seen the ship exploding, watched it falling unpiloted to the blackness of the universe. Sweet, fierce Clary was dead too. Valentine had sacrificed his own daughter to kill his biggest enemy and destroy the droid that contained the proof they needed to strike him down.

The Resistance still had the data S1-M0N had carried, but clearly it wasn’t safe to deliver it; Luke had been careful enough only to warn Senator Herondale that they were coming and, in turn, Imogen had summoned a secret and urgent meeting, without disclosing the reason for it.

If the Circle’s spy could intercept that, there was no telling how deep their knowledge ran. Valentine wouldn’t dare attack the Clave, but he would do everything in his power to stop any transmissions or attempts of Resistance’s ships to arrive at the Clave’s base. But if Magnus could cause enough disruption to give them a window of opportunity…

That was it. Magnus had to find a way to get out of that cell; he was not done fighting for the Resistance. If he was able to keep Sebastian busy, that was one less enemy for Isabelle and Jace to fight. One less problem for Raphael to think about. The Resistance would not stop. He was not alone.

_You bring others who had chosen the path of light to you._

There was one more person in that ship that had made that choice, even when all he was given was darkness. Magnus closed his eyes and waited. 

He would find Alexander and, together, they would take the ship from the inside.

\---

The urge was unbearable. Alec felt his legs and arms shake uncontrollably, every pore of his body pouring cold sweat. It had started a few hours after Aldertree had left the room, just like he said it would. Alec’s vision was hazy and everything seemed silver.

Silver, like that liquid. He needed more of it, so the shaking would stop. It was better not to feel anything than to feel that never-ending shakiness, that overwhelming loss of control. Alec hissed, gasping for air, for anything that would make it stop.

And then he realized he had moved, on his own volition. Just an inch to the side, but his neck had moved. Alec wasn’t facing the ceiling anymore, he could see the walls. Everything was silver, so it was hard to be sure, but if he had done that, then maybe-

Alec gritted his teeth and propelled his entire body to the side. He had to try again and again, but in time the drug relented. Alec threw himself out of the chair, falling violently on the floor as he regained control of his members, slowly and gradually. 

It seemed that, in his arrogance, Aldertree had left the cuffs open. Alec smirked and he realized he was able to move his fingers, dumbly and tremblingly, but moving nonetheless.

The sound must have alarmed the stormtrooper by the door, because the door swung open and he walked in. But Alec was ready for him. He kicked the white hat’s legs, not as fast as he wanted, but strong enough to make him lose balance and fall. 

As Alec’s body responded, more and more at every try, he crawled over the stormtrooper and slammed his fist on the white mask. It wasn’t a proper punch, not when Alec couldn’t quite close his fingers and he was sure he had broken his bones by doing so, but Alec didn’t stop. Not until he was sure the stormtrooper was unconscious. 

The drug numbed the pain and Alec fought through it as he grabbed the discarded blaster on the floor. It took more than one try to stand up and when he did, Alec felt the entire world spinning around him. He felt dizzy, bile rising up his throat.

Alec leaned against the wall, letting its coolness wash away the vertigo. Moving was starting to tire him, as if his legs weighed a ton each. Was it the drug? Would it pass if he had any? Looking back to the restraining chair, Alec searched for a compartment, anywhere Aldertree could had left another dose. He could inject himself with just a little, enough to eliminate the pain and-

“No,” Alec breathed out. That was the addiction factor, the remainings of the substance calling for more. A drop of it would only make Alec lose control of his body again. “Magnus. I need to find Magnus.”

He stepped aside the room, struggling with the pain and the exhaustion. Getting out of the chair had required every fiber of his body, but Alec pushed through. One more step. One more step. He breathed through his mouth, using the walls as a support to keep going. The corridor was much too bright, but somehow he knew he was at the Circle’s base again. 

Did they ever left? Was their mission really a success? It seemed so far away ago, like a dream Alec once had. Maybe it had been. Maybe he had only dreamed of being able to break the Shadowhunter’s influence, of being a Lightwood. Of kissing Magnus, sleeping by his side.

Magnus. He had to find Magnus.

Alec kept going, looking for anything that looked like a door. He kept holding the blaster with his left hand, the one where there wasn’t any broken fingers. He could still shoot, though he would not be precise. But is was something.

Voices came from behind him and Alec’s instincts kicked in. He dashed to the end of the corridor, in time to hide before the passing stormtroopers saw him. It was only then that it hit Alec; there wasn’t any guard in the corridor. Wherever Magnus was being kept, he would be guarded. 

He took the opportunity to inspect his right hand. His index and middle fingers were bent in an awkward angle, but even with all the blood on them, Alec didn’t think they were broken as much as just dislocated. It looked bad, but so did his blood. There was something mixed with the red; silver sparkles. The drug.

An urge to lick it overcame Alec, but instead he put the blaster down and held the first finger with his left hand. And then he squeezed it into place. The blinding plain cleared his mind and he was able to repeat the process with the middle finger. It still hurt, but somehow it seemed easier to move his right hand now.

“Keep going,” Alec whispered to himself and got up. The dizziness came again, but it was weaker this time. He brought his right hand to his clothes, pressing the injuries against them to stop the bleeding. If he left a path of blood behind, anyone would find him.

Slowly, Alec kept going. One step and then another, crossing the empty corridor. He wasn't sure of where he was going anymore. What was closer to the cells? He needed a place to hide, to wait until the effects of the drug wore off. Even if he could find Magnus, he wouldn’t be able to help him in the state he was in.

The dormitories. Alec gritted his teeth and found his way to the left wing. The small children were kept down in the lower levels of the base, the furthest from everything else. They were too young to start training, so Instructor Iris kept them inside, isolated from one another so to discourage bonding. They only met to receive classes on writing and reading, as well the most common tongues of the universe. And obedience. That was the first lesson Alec had learned, before he could even understand why he wasn’t allowed to speak unless spoken to.

There was bound to be an empty room for him to hide in. All he had to do was find it and hope for Instructor Iris to be busy with the kids. She had never liked Alec and he doubted the sentiment had improved now that the entire Circle saw him as a traitor.

One more step. One more step. Alec’s vision was turning dark and he felt his body start to give in to exhaustion. Strangely, it was a good feeling. Natural. Alec didn’t think it was the effect of the drug clouding his senses anymore. It had to be leaving his system.

Alec breathed in through his mouth, leaning against the wall of the dormitories’ corridor. It was completely deserted. “Find a room,” he told himself, but his body wouldn’t move. It send a chilling shiver down his spine, a memory of the questioning cell, but it wasn’t it. Alec was simply too tired. He fell on his knees.

A single door opened and Alec saw a little girl walking out, wary of the thump she had heard in the corridor. She had dark brown skin and a cloud of hair hanging on her little shoulders. There was fear in her big innocent eyes, but mostly, she was taken by curiosity.

“Help me,” Alec whispered, before he collapsed into darkness.

\---

The uninterrupted sizzle that came from the speakers was probably the worst type of torture Magnus had ever gone through. 

He had fallen asleep after a couple of hours awake where nobody came to see him. Maybe Sebastian had gotten bored with him, which was not a bad thing in the slightest. But Magnus needed him to show up if his plan to escape was going to work. The Jedi was sure he could still overpower the Shadowhunter, especially because the chances of Sebastian trying to will him into submission through the Force were high. The boy wouldn’t waste a chance to try to win again, not when he thought Magnus was too weak to put up a fight.

Not that the assumption would be wrong. Magnus’ body was weak and begging for nourishment, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d go a day without any food. He could do it again.

What he couldn’t do was concentrate with that hellish sizzle hissing insistently. Magnus wasn’t sure when it had started, but it couldn’t have been too long ago. The noise kept coming and going, like a broken communicator. Sometimes it would stay for just a second, but it had been lingering more and more for the last hour.

It made it impossible for him to concentrate, let alone rest. Stronger or not, Magnus had to take advantage of every second of peace he got in order to recover, or he would never be able to escape. And that damn sizzle wouldn’t let him.

After Magnus was done with Sebastian, he was going to find that fucking speaker and crush it with his bare hands.

Just as if it had been summoned, the sizzle began again and it sounded louder this time. It was almost like a mockery now, a disdainful joke. Magnus grunted, trying to focus on anything else. He would look inside himself, as Ragnor had taught him how. Meditating was the first thing Magnus learned in his Jedi training and it had saved him from himself a thousand times in the past. It would again now.

Magnus closed his eyes, breathing in and out, relaxing his muscles as best as he could in the uncomfortable position he was forced into. He found his center, feeling his heartbeat grow slower as he filled his lungs with air. Breathing didn’t hurt anymore, Magnus realized, as his mind searched for that peaceful corner where problems didn’t matter. Somewhere he could see things clearly and organize his thoughts into a coherent plan.

He was almost there when the sizzle hissed again. 

Magnus groaned in frustration and opened his eyes. That thing could almost be considered stubborn now, as if it could sense when Magnus was on the verge of being able to ignore it. He sighed, determined to try and meditate again. 

But then he frowned. There was something else with the persistent buzzing this time. It almost sounded like a voice.

“...Mag….s….o yu…. opy...”

“What?” Magnus mouthed to himself, frown deepening. He could’ve sworn he had heard his name. And that voice. He knew that voice.

“...agnus… do you...opy?”

It was a woman’s voice. Impossible to decipher or recognize, but it still felt familiar. For a second, Magnus thought it was Camille, but it couldn’t be. He shook his head and tried to speak. His mouth was too dry and no sound came out of it.

He tried again. “Y-yes. I copy.”

“Magnus,” the voice sounded again, still heavy with interference, but becoming clear by the second. “If you c-py, nod once.”

The Jedi’s eyes widened. It was Isabelle. Magnus did as he was told, nodding once and sharply.

“Th-nk the An-el!” Isabelle sighed against the microphone, sounding as young as she was. “We’re comi-g for you. I repeat. We’re coming for you. Stay str-ng. Luke ma-e it to the Cl-ave.”

Magnus felt his jaw dropping, barely believing her. They had survived, they had completed the mission. They were coming.

Isabelle spoke again. “I hacked into the C-rcle’s system, but I don’t have much time before th-y find me. Listen carefully. Luke made it to the Clave. Luke, Clary and Simon are fine. The Clave believe them and they're sending in the army. Stay strong.”

Nodding again, Magnus looked to the ceiling, where he figured the camera was. “Alec,” he said, enunciating each sound as best as he could. 

“Alec is alive,” Isabelle answered immediately, her voice loud and clear. “I can’t find him in the survey system, but I know he’s escaped his cell.”

Relief washed over Magnus, so powerful he felt like he was trembling. His heart was beating so fast against his chest, Magnus could barely hear Isabelle telling him that they had found the Circle’s spy. Something about Luke’s sister, Cleophas, who worked closely as Senator Imogen’s assistant.

“We’re coming,” Isabelle assured him again, more fiercely this time. “For you and for Alec. We’re taking the Circle down, Magnus. We’re coming now. Just hang on.”

“I will,” Magnus said, despite being sure she couldn’t hear him. Help was on their way, but it was up to Magnus to find a way out of that chair. He looked around, searching again for anything that would help him break free from the restraints. There had to be something, or maybe if he could catch the attention of the stormtrooper outside-

He heard voices, coming from outside of the room. Shouts for formation, orders being passed around. The Circle was getting ready for an attack and it could only mean one thing. It was true. They were on their way.

Among the moving of the troops, Magnus could feel Sebastian’s influence shaping the Force; his fear and anger merging into one from somewhere in the ship. There was something there, a sense a dejavu, a need to prove himself. He was afraid, not of the Resistance, but of Valentine. Of disobeying his orders again.

It was as if Sebastian was convincing himself to restrain his impulses, to follow orders. It was fresh, something he wasn’t accustomed to feeling. A childish vindication passed through Magnus as he realized Sebastian had screwed up recently and was in need to rectify himself.

But then Magnus felt another pulse, a different disturbance in the Force. One he didn’t recognized. It wasn’t far away, somewhere to his left. Strong, but untrained. Afraid, but determined. Who was that? 

A tremor took over the entire Circle’s base and Magnus smiled through the shouts of the desperate stormtroopers. 

The Downworlder Resistance had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No killing the author. It's the law.
> 
> Once again, the hugest thank you to the wifey and beta[Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). Also thank you for hiding me.
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for some justice?

The second hit was much stronger than the first one. Magnus felt the floor tremble again, as a wave of fear washed over him from all directions. It was mostly fear, of course, but there were other feelings too. Anger. Outrage. Loss. A chance to change. Defiance. Resolve.

His cell’s door shut open and a stormtrooper walked in, rushed and uncertain. There was nothing of the organized numbness of Circle guards to this one, as if the chaos had sparkled in them a sense of uniqueness. 

“Are we going somewhere, darling?” Magnus asked as he watched the stormtrooper work on the chair holding him.

“Yes,” she answered shortly. “We’re getting you and AL-2352 out of here.”

It took a second for Magnus to recognize her, but the tag in her uniform left no room for doubt. That was Alec’s friend, LB-2677. She worked quickly on releasing the cuffs and then rushed to the other side of the room, typing on a secret panel. In seconds, she had Magnus’ lightsaber in her hands.

Magnus pulled it to himself, wondering if he should knock her out, but decided against it. “That was easy. Now to Alec.”

“No,” the stormtrooper shook her head. “We have to stop by his cell first. Get the antidote.” She was already moving, but Magnus stopped her by grabbing her arm.

“What antidote? What are you talking about?”

“Look, we don’t have time for this. The base is being attacked and we can use that as a diversion, but if we don’t get to AL-2-... to Alec, he’s gonna die.” The panic in her voice was palpable even through the robotic sounds that mask turned it into. 

Magnus ignored the sting of pain in his heart. “Darling, we are not going anywhere until you stop shaking. You might be able to sneak out of here, but I’m pretty recognizable so I need you to have a clear mind before we get out of this room. Take that mask off for a second, I can help you calm down.”

She hesitated, but eventually nodded. Magnus counted seven frantic heartbeats until the stormtrooper in front of him revealed a beautiful young woman, not much older than Alec was. Her blonde hair was tied up in a sharp ponytail and the seriousness of her blue eyes made her look like she was about to drag Magnus out of the room by herself if she needed to.

“You’re not giving me a name,” the girl said flatly. 

The Jedi nodded. “How about you name yourself? I’m not calling you by a tag, sweetheart.”

Huffing impatiently, she gritted her teeth and then sighed. “Call me Lydia, if you must. I like this name.”

Magnus smiled and let go of her. “Alright then, Lydia. What is that about an antidote? Has Alexander been poisoned?”

Lydia shook her head and there was guilt in her eyes as she avoided Magnus’ gaze. “I was in surveillance so I saw… I saw what General Aldertree did to him. Alec has been drugged, with a powerful drug. It was only one dose, so the initial effects can be fought off, but if he doesn’t take the antidote, his body will crash.” She stopped, inhaling deeply. “He was able to escape and hide in the children’s dormitories. I erased the recordings, so I don’t think anyone knows where he is, but we have to move quickly.”

“Lead the way,” Magnus said immediately.

With the attack, there was nobody to bother them in the corridor. Still, Lydia was careful as she guided Magnus to a parallel corridor, remarkably similar to the one his cell was located. There was only one stormtrooper there, so it was easy for Magnus to swing him towards the wall, knocking him out at once. 

As they found the room Alec had been kept in, Magnus’ heart tightened again in his chest. There was a stormtrooper on the ground, unconscious or dead. His mask was distorted and bloodied, and there were more drops of blood on the floor. 

Lydia ignored the fallen guard and searched the chair. From one of the compartiments, she produced a silver package. Opening it, she counted six syringes with a clear red liquid in it before shoving it to Magnus. “Here. He’ll need to take a shot every month, for six months.”

Magnus didn’t let the implications of that start to form in his mind. He just took the package and shoved it in his robe. “He’ll get it. Let’s go.” 

Nodding, Lydia took out her blaster and made sure the corridor was empty before exiting the room. It was interesting how she hadn’t put her helmet back on, discarding it the moment she had chosen to take a stand. First Alec, then her. Maybe when this fighting was over, there could be others like them. Hopefully, all of the stormtroopers could manage to do the same.

“Stop!” a mechanic voice sounded from behind them. As they turned, a single stormtrooper stood there, blaster in hand. He was familiar too, just like his tag RJ-7257. “I can’t let you do this, LB-2677. You can’t be a traitor too!”

There was a sadness in Lydia’s eyes as she pointed her own blaster at him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and pulled the trigger.

They were back to running before they even heard the sound of the body hitting the floor. Lydia’s communicator buzzed with commands as they headed to the left wing. The Resistance was firing with all they had and some of the troops were already infiltrating the ship. It seemed the joint effort of the rebel army and the Clave’s forces was able to crush the Circle’s defenses, slowly but steadily.

“Here,” Lydia said, pointing to a few drops of blood. They weren’t completely dry yet. “He must be in one of the rooms in this corridor.”

“This one.” Magnus stopped in front of a door. There was from where the strange disturbance in the Force came from. Someone in there was using the Force, willing it into fruition. They were terrified, yes, and still their control was abnormally remarkable. Whoever was doing that was extremely gifted.

Lydia stepped beside him, working on the electronic lock. The room was named under the tag MA-4943 and showed the image of a small framed girl, with dark skin and a cloud of hair floating over her shoulders. Her expression was sad and almost empty, exactly like it made Magnus feel like as he stared at it.

It was the same little girl that was standing behind the door when it opened. Magnus didn’t have much time to wonder about it, though, because she moved her hands and both Lydia and him were thrown to the other side of the corridor, crashing against the wall. The air was knocked out of Magnus’ lungs and he felt the pressure of the Force propelling him to stay unmoving, his entire body glued to the ship.

She was immensely powerful. In another situation, he’d be ecstatic to have found her. Not now, though.

Magnus struggled to find an opening to seize control from her, but finally he did it. As he overpowered the girl, his body dropped to the floor, but Magnus managed to land on his feet. The girl gasped and took a step back inside the room.

Magnus felt his mouth go dry as he saw what was behind her. Alec’s unconscious body floated just a couple of inches from the bed, shaking violently from a seizure. MA-4943 whimpered and tried to keep him from hitting his head, but her efforts were doing more harm than good as she kept turning to Magnus, waiting for him to attack.

Swallowing all his fear and worry, Magnus put on a brave smile. “Sweetpea, it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. Nor him. I’m here to help.” He searched for the silver case in his robes and showed her the seringues. “I need to give him this or the shaking won’t stop. Please, let me help.”

The girl stared at him with cold eyes, something that didn’t belong in her young face. Ages passed until she stepped aside. Magnus rushed inside the room and took over the Force keeping Alec from crashing against the hard walls. He used the Force to apply the shot too, afraid he’d hurt Alec if he tried to do it manually.

The violent shaking subdued as soon as the last drop of the red liquid vanished inside Alec. His whole body went still and Magnus carefully laid him on the bed, much too small for him. He approached and brushed his fingers through Alec’s hair, ignoring just how cold his skin felt. “Come on, babe. I’m here. Come on. It’s okay now. You’re going to be okay. Wake up, darling.”

Nothing changed and Alec just seemed to grow paler and paler. 

“No, no, no.” Magnus grabbed Alec’s shoulder, squeezing it. “Wake up, Alexander. Don’t do this. Please. Please wake up. Please, I-I need you to wake up.”

One more heartbeat and Alec remained still. He seemed peaceful, almost as if he was sleeping. But he wasn’t breathing. Magnus felt the tears stung the back of his eyes and he realized he was holding his breath too.

And then Alec’s eyes shot open.

\---

Alec jerked away from the shadow that was hovering above him. He looked around, panting loudly, but concluded he wasn’t in the interrogation room anymore. Everything came back at once, the burning sensation, the drug, escaping. He had ended up in a little girl’s room and then… and then…

And then it didn’t matter anymore, because he recognized the man in front of him and everything felt right for a change.

“You’re okay,” Alec whispered and pulled Magnus to a tight hug, to which the Jedi obliged gladly. “Magnus, I was so scared. I-I thought they had… You were screaming, and I didn’t know… I-”

“It’s over now, my darling,” Magnus said against Alec’s hair, the ghost of a sob in his voice. His hand brushed over Alec’s back, reassuringly and yet a little trembling. “Luke made it to the Clave and they are here now.”

Alec pulled away from him just enough to be able to see his face. No, Luke was dead. “Aldertree said-,” Alec stopped mid sentence, realizing what had happened. “Alright. Let’s go.”

But Magnus didn’t let him get up. “Are you sure you are feeling okay?” the Jedi asked, concern and anger all over his voice.

“The antidote has energizing properties,” Lydia said quietly from the door. She hadn’t stepped in and looked hesitant as she watched them as if she was afraid of Alec’s reaction. “Should be enough to keep him on his feet for a couple of hours.”

He didn’t blame her. They were taught that showing kindness was a weakness, a fault. LB-2677 had always been kind, though she did her best to cover it with a harsh expression and a command on her lips. 

Alec smiled upon seeing her without any mask on. “Did you… Did you get Magnus out?” She nodded shortly, making Alec’s smile spread through his face. “Thank you,” he said to his friend, because she was his friend.

He then looked at the little girl. “And thank you. You saved me.” Alec didn’t know how, but he had the faintly memory of floating into the room, a sensation not much different from when Jace pulled him and Magnus into their ship.

The girl smiled shyly, shiming her shoulders. She paused, as if considering to say something.

But an explosion hit, closer to them, and all they could do not to fall was brace themselves. Magnus was right; the Resistance was there and they were fighting.

Alec got out of the bed and kneeled in front of girl. “Can I call you Madzie?” he asked quietly. He had seen her tag number and it was the first name that came into his mind. 

The girl nodded, a bit unsure. Alec smiled again and the doubts vanished from her face. “Alright, Madzie. I want to play a game. I’m going outside and you’re hiding in here, somewhere nobody can find you. Stay hidden until I’m back. Can you do that?”

Madzie looked sad, but eventually she nodded again. “Promise?” she asked very, very quietly, but at least she didn’t seem afraid anymore. 

“I promise.” Alec squeezed her little shoulder and then he looked up, to Magnus and Lydia.

“Come on,” he said as he stood up and grabbed the blaster forgotten over the table. “Let’s join our friends.”

There was chaos all around the ship as they ran through the corridors, but the real fight was concentrated at the main hangar. Alec kept running, passing by resistant soldiers firing at stormtroopers. Magnus blocked plasma shots on their right and Lydia took down more enemies on their left and yet, it seemed like the battle never reached an end.

Alec himself shot soldiers on their way, though he hardly thought of it. He could hear the sounds of lightsaber cutting through air, somehow he could feel Jace and Izzy were just a few more doors away. He would make sure they were fine and then go after his real target. 

The Shadowhunter would be there, fighting Jace, and where the Shadowhunter was, so would be Aldertree. 

Lydia screamed when a shadow tackled her, sending them both rolling on the floor. Maia stopped over the stormtrooper, hands turned claws, her eyes glowing in a sick green. She growled, ready to rip Lydia’s face apart. 

Magnus had to pull her away. “Maia, no! She’s with us!”

The bar owner blinked, looking confused between them. “I was on my way to free you,” she said, almost accusingly.

Snorting, Magnus pointed at Lydia as Alec helped her get up. “She’s taken care of that, sweetie. Maia, meet Lydia. Lydia, Maia.”

“Hi,” Maia said dryly. “Sorry about that.”

Lydia nodded in response, though Alec could see how her lips pursed in anger from being taken down so easily. “It’s fine. How about we do that to the real enemy?”

That made Maia smirk. “Sure. I’ve been missing some quality girl time.”

“Great, they are friends already.” Magnus chuckled and spun his purple lightsaber in his hand with a flourish. “Now, if you girls excuse us, Alexander and I have unfinished business to attend. Have fun.” He winked at Alec. “Shall we, darling?”

“Absolutely,” Alec answered and set his blaster from stunning to lethal.

\---

The first thing Magnus saw when he and Alec entered the main hangar was Jace narrowly dodging Sebastian’s lightsaber. The emotions coming from them were incredible similar, as both of them gave their all in every slash and spun. But while Sebastian’s feelings came from a desperate place, filled with rage and suffering, Jace fought to protect those he loved, to make the galaxy safer.

And he didn’t fight alone. Clary was there with him, with a nasty cut on her forehead and a bloodied bandage showing through a huge hole in the leg of her pants, but still shooting at every chance she got. She and S1-M0N covered Jace’s back, stopping any stormtrooper from hitting him. The droid was missing an arm, but he made up for it with a happy attitude as he blasted whitehats left and right.

Magnus grabbed Alec by the arm. “I have to go.”

Alec’s hazel eyes were fixed on Aldertree, who was commanding the army from the top of a controlling tower, and there was a darkness to them. It lightened up as soon as Alec looked back at him. “Yes. Protect Jace for me.”

Feeling his throat clog with emotion, Magnus sighed and slid his hand to Alec’s, squeezing it. “Whatever you do, my love, remember our actions color our hearts. Don’t let a thirst for vengeance darken yours.”

It was not what Alec was expecting to hear, judging by his surprised expression, but he nodded nonetheless. “You’re right. I won’t look for revenge. Only justice.”

“I trust you to know what the difference is,” Magnus said. “Come back to me.”

Alec nodded. “You too.”

They let go of each other and Magnus only had time to watch Alec slip through the enemy lines, before running to back up Jace. Sebastian had engaged in a series of attacks, fuelled by rage. He looked like he was trying to drill through Jace in order to get to Clary.

“Get out of my way, Jedi!” the Shadowhunter growled. “She’s not going to get away this time! If she’s dead, he can’t want her back!”

Oh. It all made sense then, the attempt to capture them, the sudden change of approach. The first order came from Valentine, as he probably knew Clary was on board of the vessel traveling to the Clave. The second was all Sebastian. Jealous, childish, irrational Sebastian, who saw Clary as a competition for Valentine’s love.

As if a monster like Valentine Morgenstern could ever truly love anyone. Magnus knew all about striving for the affection of a madman. It was not worth the shot.

For a second, Magnus nearly felt bad for the boy. And then, he attacked. 

Sebastian barely had time to dodge out of the way of Magnus’ lightsaber and jump backwards, out of range. Magnus smirked at Jace, successfully wiping the relieved grin on the younger Jedi’s face into a scoff. “Keep doing that and I’ll think you’ve actually missed me.”

Jace snorted, but the fact that the smile remained despite his efforts to hide it spoke volumes. “You’re late. What about Alec?”

“He had some unfinished business to resolve.” Magnus cracked his neck and stared at the Shadowhunter, though now all he saw was an unruly dog. “And so do I. Don’t get in my way.”

“Yeah, right. Try to keep up.” Jace scoffed and spun his green lightsaber. He looked back at Clary, smiling as he saw her fighting still.

Sebastian howled as the three of them attacked at the same time.

\---

Getting to the tower of command in the middle of the confusion was easier than Alec expected. As the two armies crashed against each other, nobody paid attention to one guy going to the only part of the ship where there was no fighting.

Whatever Magnus had injected him with was taking a strange effect on Alec. All his senses seemed sharper, as if the antidote had heightened his sensibility to both the outside world and to himself. He felt everything almost in an exaggerated way. 

Better that than feeling nothing at all. 

Alec climbed up the stairs, blaster in hand. He heard when the first stormtrooper came, so it was a simple thing to take him down. There would be two more with Aldertree in there, operating the commands and executing his orders. Their blasters would be on their sides, easy to access, but not at hand yet. 

That was Alec’s chance. He inhaled, calming his heart and focusing his senses. First, Alec blasted the door open. Second, he used the initial shock to blow up the lights. It wasn’t enough to sink the room into complete darkness, but it gave Alec the chance to sneak in unnoticed. He was behind a counter before the stormtroopers started shooting at the door.

Taking them down was a mechanic process. Two shots, two stormtroopers out. Alec moved immediately afterwards, nearing the distance between him and the place where Aldertree started shooting. He had given up his position, but it was a part of his plan.

As long as Aldertree didn’t know where he was, Alec would have his shot.

But then the blasting stop. “Alec,” Aldertree said, changing the game from a hunt to… something else. “I knew you would come back. I’ve always known you were among the strong ones, a fighter from the first. I’m glad you were able to fight the effects off. It only proves how grand you are.”

He wasn’t, though. Alec hadn’t won over the drug, not by himself. He was able to move, yes, but if Magnus and Lydia hadn’t found him, he would’ve died in Madzie’s bed. More lies, intended to set him apart, to paint Aldertree in a brighter shade. 

“You might think I’m lying. I am not. I hoped you would triumph, I’ve trained you to do so. Why do you think I left your cuffs unhooked?” 

Alec had to bit his lower lip in order not to respond. Arrogance, insanity. Many things explained that and none of those were some misguided notion that somehow Aldertree was ever on his side. Calm down, Alec thought, closing his eyes. Think. He’s stalling. All you need is one shot.

The General kept going. “Neither of us doubts that you’re at an advantage here. Our prized marksman.” Aldertree moved, still hidden behind a roll of panels. “So smart, so lethal. Too bad you’re tainted now. Broken on the inside, the drug rotting your own blood. It will never leave you, you know? It’s a part of you now.”

The next sentence came with a satisfied smile on Aldertree’s voice. “And I can give you more. Right now, right here.”

Alec felt his mouth go dry as the urge made his heart skip a beat.

\---

Fighting Sebastian was like reliving a dream, over and over again. Magnus felt as if he knew the sequences of movements, since they all came from a place of blind anger, and still Sebastian was good enough that it was impossible to stop him. In another life, under a different tutor, maybe the Shadowhunter could’ve been a great nephilim Jedi.

But this was the life they got and Magnus knew only one great nephilim Jedi, and that was Jace. Fuelled by his love for Clary, the boy was fighting like never before. His moves were precise, efficient, powerful. Magnus could be the master, but there was no questioning Jace’s superiority in lightsaber fighting. And it made Magnus proud.

They attacked together, finding themselves blocked by Sebastian’s double sword. Once again, they were spinning around each other, destroying everything in their path, but not the Shadowhunter’s defense. Even when they had the upper hand, Sebastian seemed to find a way to avoid their blasts. Magnus had only been able to make one hit, against the two he had taken on his arms and legs. Jace had gotten two in, and that made him confident.

He attacked to find an opening, anything that would give him an opportunity. And an opening was found, only not by Jace.

Sebastian blocked Jace’s slash with one side of his lightsaber and a sick grin covered his face before he forced Jace’s hand to the side and sliced his arm. Jace’s hand fell and with it, his green lightsaber. Sebastian laughed maniacally and readied himself to finish Jace off once and for all.

He was not expecting the blast of raw power Magnus sent in his way. Neither was Magnus, but as he saw Jace grab his mutilated arm, the Jedi lost all sense of control. It was one thing to have played twisted tricks in Magnus’ mind, but he would not stand to see his former pupil taken from him.

Magnus raised a hand, feeling the Force pulse in every fiber of his being. Sebastian levitated from the floor, unable to stop him. With a twist of a finger, Magnus imploded the setting on button, crushing the weapon’s powering system and drowning the kyber crystal inside. The shock made the boy let go of it immediately and Magnus made a sharp movement of his free hand, shooting the lightsaber to the floor, where it stuck with a thump.

Struggling, Sebastian tried fighting off Magnus’ control, but it was all for nothing. All the anger, all the worry, all the love Magnus had in himself was channeled into molding the Force, willing it into holding Sebastian in place. It was all Magnus could do to avoid choking him right there, but revenge wasn’t the right path. It would not be what Ragnor would want for him.

So Magnus breathed in, knowing what he had to do. Once Sebastian was knocked out, the fight would end and the Resistance would win. He moved his fingers, penetrating through Sebastian’s defenses to reach his mind. The boy squirmed and wriggled in the air, fighting back with strong pulses.

They weren’t strong enough to win over Magnus’ hold, but they were strong enough to allow Sebastian to reach his boot, from where he produced a small blaster. The absurdity of that made Magnus hesitate, but all he needed to deflect the blast was a twirl of his lightsaber.

But in doing so, he let go of Sebastian. And the boy fell, straight into his red lightsaber. 

Magnus could only watch as the Shadowhunter found his violent end, impaled by his own weapon. He could, but he didn’t, for taking care of Jace was more important than honoring the man who had only revered death and destruction.

\---

“I know you want it,” Aldertree said in a sweet voice. “It’s fine, Alec. So many strong men and women fell for my drug. Even Force users, though they weren’t nearly as annoying as that Jedi of yours. Tell me, what is it about him? It can’t be all the bedazzle.”

It took Aldertree bringing Magnus into his monologue for Alec to realize what his plan was. The general wasn’t just stalling, he was desperate to try and make Alec reveal his position. Aldertree had tried to turn the hunt into a mind game, but the truth was that it was his only move. Besides that, there was only waiting for Alec to drown him out of his hiding place and shoot him dead.

Concluding that made it easier for Alec to ignore the babbling. His senses were starting to go back to normal, which almost felt like an advantage. Still, Alec reminded himself they were in his element. The shot was coming and he was going to make it. It was a matter of time and opportunity.

Alec couldn’t control the first one, but he could create the second. The general had given up shooting, which meant his move was to find a way out, through his words or actions. He had been moving towards the door, and Alec had let him. 

From where he was, the door was the clearest spot of the room.

“Do you think he cares for you? That he is in love with you?” Aldertree asked calmly. “I hope you don’t. He can’t be, you see. They don’t feel like we do, these Force users. To them, feelings are a source of power, a weapon. To Jedis, feelings are supposed to be suppressed. So really, either he doesn’t care for you as much as you’d like, or you’re making him a poor Jedi. There’s just no hope for you two, no matter how much you’d want there to be. I’m sorry.”

That was enough. Alec took a shot, blasting a panel at Aldertree’s left and sending sparkles in the air. As he expected, the general took what he recognized as a chance of cover and dashed to the door. But Alec was ready for him and, in a second, he had Aldertree on his aiming visor.

A clear shot.

Inhaling deeply, Alec thought of Magnus’ words. He hated Aldertree, for shooting Magnus, for what he had done to him, for what he represented. The General had earned his way to an early grave, not only for his actions against them, but for his role in the Circle’s rise to power through terror. 

However his life was not Alec’s to take. If Aldertree was to die, it would be by order of the Clave. And Alec realized with surprise that he was fine with that.

But damn it, he’d be the one to deliver Aldertree to justice. 

Alec aimed for the general’s knee, first disabling him. As Aldertree fell, he took another shot, this one on the man’s hand. He would never be able to handle syringes again. That was justice, for Alec and for everyone Aldertree had ever drugged.

Alec stood up from his hiding spot and walked up to him. Aldertree opened his mouth as he crawled away from him, but Alec knocked him out using the base of his blaster. 

“You talk too much,” Alec said as he made sure the man was not going anywhere. 

When he was satisfied, Alec grabbed one of the forgotten blasters and prepared to rush back to the children dormitories. He had told Madzie he would come back for her, so it was time to make good on his word.

\---

With the Shadowhunter down, the army of stormtroopers broke into chaos. The main tower of command had gone dark while Magnus was too busy fighting, but he didn’t have to guess to conclude what had happened there. The battle was won. Both Sebastian and Aldertree had been defeated.

Magnus turned to Jace and Clary, as the girl tended to Jace’s wound. “Send word to Luke. He has to know what happened here.”

Clary nodded and looked at her droid. S1-M0N gasped and began working on the communication transfer. Magnus guarded them, though no stormtrooper was shooting anymore. In fact, they were all retreating.

But where?

Looking around, Magnus realized the white army had gotten into a new formation, separated in defensive squads. The first line kneeled, blasters pointing as the second line seemed to wait for orders. The rebels all around watched them, apprehensively. A lot of them were injured, and Magnus saw Meliorn holding a spear, a contingent of Seelie soldiers waiting for his orders.

The door behind the regrouped stormtroopers opened and a single figure walked out. He was wearing full military attire, completed with a long white cape that draped from his shoulders, and he walked with his hands crossed in front of his body, watching the wreckage with uninterested eyes and a distant smirk on his lips.

The figure kept walking, but nobody else moved. Magnus wasn’t sure why he was so still in place, there was nothing stopping him from moving. Nothing at all. Yet, he only watched as the Supreme Leader stared at the body of Sebastian.

Valentine Morgenstern sighed, almost in contempt. “I guess I’m not surprised he would find his end like this.” He looked over where Magnus and the other stood and smiled gently. “He has never had your resilience, Clarissa. All power and no refinement. No patience.” He shrugged and grabbed on the handler of the lightsaber, pulling it from Sebastian’s body. The corpse met the floor with a dry thump and Valentine turned off the weapon, not wasting another glance in his son’s direction.

He kept walking, now to where they were. Immediately, Magnus put himself in front of Clary. Half of it was to protect her, but the other half was to keep her from doing something stupid, like confronting the man.

As Magnus felt the girl collide against his back, already in the middle of charging in the direction of her father, he considered his decision wise.

“You’re going down,” Clary shrieked. “You can’t hide behind your generals and deceits anymore. The Clave knows about your crimes, they won’t let you get away with them.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Valentine cocked his head to the side. Magnus didn’t understand the tight in his chest, or what was he so afraid of. Valentine was just a man, middle-aged and bald. Time had gotten to him just as it did to anybody else. He wasn’t particularly handsome, nor was he hard to look at. An average man, just a nephilim.

And still, there was something terrifying in the way he was so calm, so absolute in his resolve. “I should never have sent children to do the work of an adult. That is what Lucian does, as he plays rebel. Well,” Valentine sighed. “It is true what they say. If you want something done right, you should do it yourself.”

Magnus didn’t let him do whatever he was planning on doing. He turned on his purple lightsaber, ready to protect the others.

But Valentine shook his head. “Oh, no, Master Jedi. You’re the last of your Order. And it will be my pleasure to erase it once and for all.” He moved his hand, fingers spread open. And then he closed his hand into a fist.

Confusion was followed by surprise as Magnus felt the air being knocked out of his lungs. Valentine’s hold on the Force wasn’t nearly as strong as his son’s, but it was infused with so much hatred, it blinded Magnus for a few moments. The sheer oppression of it was unbearable, as Magnus felt the man’s loathing of every inch of him, of his very being. It hurt just as bad as the lack of air.

A chilling roar sounded through the hangar and Magnus was able to pull the Force’s grip away from him. As he panted heavily, gasping for oxygen, he saw Isabelle’s X-wing expert landing in the middle of the hangar.

The cockpit opened, revealing Luke behind her.

“Pick on someone your own size,” he growled, eyes turning bright green. His fingers turned into claws and Luke roared again, even louder this time.

He dashed forward, head on. Valentine barely had time to turn on the lightsaber before Luke reached him, but the resistance general dodged the defensive lash and landed a blow, tearing through Valentine’s impeccable uniform. Luke was forced to take distance in order to avoid the second strike, but he was back on Valentine again, claws descending on him with a vengeance.

“I can’t believe I stayed away from the action,” Isabelle complained as she leaped from the ship. As the two leaders fought on, both armies clashed again. The pilot took the opportunity to shoot down a few whitehats. “I mean, you guys were having all the fun here.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “You singlehandedly blasted our way into the ship. And then you neutralized the Circle’s aero defenses.”

Isabelle shrugged, eyes only stopping at the boy’s stump for a second before she turned to Magnus, hugging him tight. The embrace lasted for just a few seconds before Isabelle pulled away and looked around. “Where’s my brother?”

“Here,” Alec’s voice called as he ran to them. He had Madzie in his arms, and Maia and Lydia following close. “Is everyone alright?”

“Define everyone,” S1-M0N said, pointing at the heart of the fight. Luke and Valentine kept exchanging blows, but as the initial surprise had passed, the Circle’s leader had started to gain the upper hand. He was not a talented Force user, but he knew his way with a lightsaber nonetheless. “because I think one of them is about to be not very right.”

Maia growled lowly. “We have to help Luke.”

But Magnus shook his head. “No. This is his fight. His loss or his victory. If he falls, we’ll make sure Valentine doesn’t escape. But we do not interfere.”

S1-M0N agreed eagerly. “Nicely put. In fact, I don’t think one could phrase those words in any better way at all. Oh, no. Definitely not. You should be a spokesperson, Magnus. I mean, besides a badass Master Jedi.”

“Why won’t you shut up?” Jace rolled his eyes, but then something caught his attention. “Where’s Clary?”

“Clary? Oh wow. She was, like, just here,” the droid spoke again, a sense of urgency in his voice. “Oh, well. I’m sure she can take care of herself. And I am in no way saying this to keep you guys from looking for her and stopping her from doing something. No no, I just have faith in Clary. Something we all should collectively hav-”

“Over there,” Alec said, eyes glued at the commander tower. “She has a blaster.”

They all looked at the same time. Clary had used their momentary distraction to sneak away and find her way to a shooting position. The girl had always been resourceful, and worse, impulsive, but this was beyond anything Magnus could imagine she would do. From where she stood, making that shot on a moving target without hitting Luke was nearly impossible. Alec have done something similar, but he was trained for this. Clary was not.

“What are the chances she’ll miss?” Magnus asked, regretting the words as soon as they escaped his lips.

Alec sighed. “High. Very high.”

“She won’t,” Jace said calmly. Despise his wound, his entire posture was confident as he watched Clary point out the blaster and aim. “She won’t miss, not when it means saving Luke. The Force is with her. Clary will protect her father.”

Magnus held his breath, heart pounding. A hand closed over his and he saw Alec beside him, still holding Madzie against his chest. His eyes were fixed on the fight, following Luke’s every move. The general had taken a few blows and wherever the lightsaber had touched him blew out smoke, but it wasn’t enough to stop him completely.

Until Valentine managed a miraculous escape and was able to use Luke’s fatigue to strike. He kicked Luke down, stepping on his throat. Bringing the lightsaber up into the air, Valentine looked at his foe with a sick triumphant grin on his face.

“Now,” Alec whispered. And, as if she could hear him, Clary pulled the trigger.

A pull in the fabric of the Force twisted the blast’s trajectory. Magnus could feel it clearly, moving the plasma, propelling it forward. He just couldn’t trace the source of that disturbance. It wasn’t Jace, though the boy kept repeating a prayer to himself. It wasn’t Magnus at all. It would be years of training until little Madzie could do such a trick.

Maybe it was Clary. Her father had that power, and so did her brother. Her love for Luke could have shaped the Force into aiding that last attempt into protection. A desperate act, but no less powerful for it.

Maybe it was the Force itself, acting through Clary. Bringing balance back to the galaxy, stopping the darkness from prevailing over light. Setting things into their right path.

When the shot hit Valentine’s exposed chest, however, Magnus realized he didn’t care. Not when it gave Luke the chance he needed to take over the fight and knock the lightsaber away from his long time enemy. Without the weapon, the fighting ended in a punch and so, General Luke Garroway had finally defeated the Supreme Leader of the Circle.

It was over at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye bye, assholes.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you[Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit).
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at goodbyes, so I'm gonna pretend this isn't it.
> 
> Instead, I'm gonna propose a challenge. Somewhere in this chapter, there is [this Star Wars AU drawing](https://twitter.com/noksindra/status/860243047099105281/) by the super duper talented [Noksindra](https://twitter.com/noksindra). Can you find it?
> 
> And now, to the final chapter.

“Good, good. Steady,” Isabelle said. “Now land.”

Alec rolled his eyes, hands gripping on the controls with a little more strength than necessary. “That is not a very specific instruction. And we don’t have clearance.”

His sister sighed dramatically and pushed the mic button. “Hey Lyds, Alec is afraid to land.”

The answer came with a chuckle. “That’s because he always crashes the ship in simulations,” Lydia said, traitorously. What was the point of Luke entrusting her with commanding the first base’s traffic area if she would just mock him with Isabelle every single time the Lightwoods went out on missions.

“Don’t worry, Alec,” Max said, peeking from behind him. Alec had to refrain from groaning; couldn’t the boy just stay in his seat and buckle up? “There’s hardly anyone in the hangar now. It’s not like a lot of people would die if you lost control while landing.”

Isabelle nodded. “Max is right. Just find a point to focus and pull the ship down. Look, Raphael is down there. How about you land on him? Magnus would find it hilarious.”

“Maybe I’ll land on Meliorn,” Alec said, pointing at the commander as he stood next to Raphael.

“Oh, come on,” Isabelle protested, crossing her arms against her chest. “I went on one date with him. One date. You can’t just smash him for that.”

Alec and Max exchanged a glance. “I saw them kissing last night, in the corridor,” the boy rattled without a shred of shame.

It was decided then. “Meliorn it is,” Alec said. “X-Wing L requesting permission to land.”

“Landing authorized,” Lydia answered, barely holding back a chuckle.

Once on the floor, Max leaped out of the ship as soon as he saw Madzie running to them. He had been dutiful in his self-appointed responsibility to watch over the little girl and teach her all about the universe. Isabelle busied herself with transmitting the information they had found this time, considering Alec had done it the last three times.

Since the fall of the Circle, Luke had been appointed to the post of First Commander of the Clave Army, as recognition for his services to the universe. He was in charge of guarding the galaxy and maintaining peace, and had the full support of the Clave in order to do so.

His first decision was to dismiss the army of stormtroopers, effectively retiring the white uniform. All soldiers were free to move on with their lives, be it what may. They were also welcome at the Clave Army at their own volition, and many had joined, not knowing what else to do.

Luke had also been sending search parties along the galaxy to find survivors of the planets the Circle had attacked. Any agglomeration of refugees would be given assistance and the children who were taken as stormtroopers and were too young to decide for themselves were to be send to their peers. They could not bring their worlds back, but Luke wanted to preserve their cultures as best as he possibly could.

And so, Alec and Isabelle had been going on several missions together, and the pilot had taken it upon herself to teach her brother how to fly in the meantime. Alec was a quick study and he could pilot the majority of the ships the Clave Army disposed of; he just had some trouble landing them in tight spaces. Like an official hangar.

“Hey,” Alec said as he walked out of the ship and met his brother and Madzie. “Shouldn’t you be having classes now?”

The little girl scrunched her nose and pulled her tongue out. She was still having trouble speaking her mind, but at least Madzie was allowing her emotions to show on her face more and more. She reached out with both hands, standing on her tiptoes. 

Alec obliged at once and picked her up. Whenever he was back from missions, Madzie wanted to hug Alec by the neck, as if that was the only way to make sure he was alright. Not that he minded.

“There you are!” Magnus’ voice boomed through the hangar and, although he didn’t sound mad, Madzie still hid her face in Alec’s shoulder. “Oh, come on. I know meditation can be boring, little lady, but it is important.”

He was dressed in classic Jedi clothes, the robes Magnus favored whenever he was teaching the young Force users they had found. There weren’t many, but the first class of the new Jedi Order had promising students. That was when they weren’t skipping classes at the main hangar.

“Madzie,” Alec said in his best attempt at an authoritative voice. It fell half flat, but he didn’t care. “You can’t run away from your lessons. Don’t you want to make a lightsaber of your own one day?” The girl nodded, eyes shining in excitement. “Then you have to master the ground lessons first.”

She pouted, looking at Max for support. When the youngest Lightwood just shrugged, Madzie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Okay,” she said and tapped at Alec’s shoulder to be put down. She bowed respectfully at Magnus before dashing inside the base, with Max on her heels.

“You spoil that girl rotten,” Magnus said as Alec approached him. He was playing with the handler of his lightsaber, hips popped to the side. Alec had been gone for just a couple of days, but every time he returned and saw Magnus, the Jedi looked even more beautiful than before.

This time was no exception. To personalize the Jedi garment, Magnus had dyed the tips of his hair purple and put on two big rings with the letters M and B on them. They had been gifts Alec had brought him a couple of weeks ago.

Alec smirked and hooked a finger on Magnus’ belt, pulling him closer. “I’m not the one who gives her dessert before meals.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, but crossed an arm around Alec’s neck. “That was one time or two. Four, at most. And she earned the sweet every time. Madzie gives Jace a lot of trouble and I make sure she gets rewarded for it.”

“Is that so?” Alec asked with a smile dancing on his lips. He missed it, having Magnus in his arms like this.

“Oh, yes. But that’s enough talking. I haven’t given you your welcome kiss yet and you’ve been back for several minutes now.” Magnus stared at him very seriously. “The balance of the Force depends on it, Alexander.”

Alec’s laugh was muffled when the Jedi posed his free hand on his face and pressed their lips together. That was it, Alec was home again.

A bored voice coughed next to them and they parted away just to see Raphael standing besides them, looking slightly annoyed. Maybe Alec should have listened to Isabelle and landed on him after all. 

“The Clave sent a message,” Raphael said in his usual monotone. “They are about to announce the ruling on the Circle’s officials. You can exchange body fluids later.”

Magnus rolled his eyes and leaned his forehead on the curve of Alec’s neck. “I hate being the only Master Jedi. I’m going to promote Jace just so he’ll have to deal with this kind of thing.”

Snorting, Alec shook his head and deposited a kiss on Magnus’ hair. “That’s not true. You’ll promote him because he is ready to take on a padawan.”

“Details.” Magnus shrugged and gestured for Raphael to lead the way to the command center. The announcement would probably be heard in the entire base, but Luke would want their presence as the Clave dictated the fate of the most prominent members of the Circle. 

It had taken almost four months since that final battle for a verdict to be reached, and Alec had tried his best not to give it too much thought. With the Shadowhunter dead, his main interest was to know what would happen to Aldertree. There were rumors that the damage on the former general’s hand was too great to withstand treatment and that he had lost all fine movements with his fingers.

Good. Alec had shot his hand directly with a lethal blast so it’d kill Aldertree’s hand. No more experiments for him. Alec still had to take the shots to subdue the effects of the silver drug and his dreams were haunted by a numbing feeling that made him lose control of his limbs whenever another shot was needed.

They reached the command center quickly enough and Alec focused his mind on the people there. Luke and his wife Jocelyn were listening to S1-M0N with intrigued expressions, because they were decent enough to pretend to care. 

Clary was sitting with Jace a couple of chairs away, making the last adjustments on his newest metal hand. Jace had created a habit of offering people a hand, just to throw the actual thing at them, if they were stupid enough to accept. He also liked pranking his friends and Alec had woken up to a hand on his face more than once in the last few months.

Hopefully, his new title would grow him out of that behavior, though Alec doubted it.

Isabelle was the last person to come in the room, and she winked at Alec before finding a place next to Meliorn. Just as soon as she was seated, the transmission started and the blue hologram of Senator Imogen appeared at the center of the main table.

“By the power invested in me by the Clave,” she declared after listing the many crimes that were being judged that day, “I sentence Valentine Morgenstern to be executed for his crimes against life and the galaxy.” Imogen didn’t pause as she recited the names of the other officials captured. Aldertree was among them. “The Clave has sentenced these men and women to life imprisonment,” she said in the same practical tone.

Alec stopped listening after that. He didn’t care about anything else, not when his nightmares could finally end. Justice was done.

A hand held his, lacing their fingers together and Alec looked up. Magnus was indicating the hologram with a discreet flourish. Apparently, the Senator wasn’t done. “For showing great value and for services to the galaxy,” Imogen said, her tone just a shade lighter than before, “the Clave has emitted a pardon for Hodge Starkweather. May the Force be with him.”

The smile on Alec’s lips was shared by both Isabelle and Jace as they exchanged proud glances. Somewhere among the stars, Alec hoped, Hodge would be smiling too.

\---

Magnus wondered when Luke would grant his request for a bigger bed.

Not that he minded sharing his with Alec at all, but neither of them was small by any means which meant some slight discomforts from time to time. The standard bed size was barely big enough for one of them, so after a few activities the proximity tended to become a little unbearable until they both recovered their breaths and paced down their heartbeats.

In these moments, Magnus usually preferred to stand up and fetch some water, just as he was doing now. He drained the jar, pouring the rest of it on his head.

“So,” Alec said teasingly, still laying on his stomach, “you’ve missed me.”

Magnus snorted and turned to him. “Oh, what gave you that impression?”

Vaguely gesturing to his own neck, where Magnus had left three increasingly darkening spots, Alec arched an eyebrow. “I’m not sure.”

With a proud smirk on his lips, Magnus went back to join him on the bed. “No complaining. I was careful to avoid the spots your outfit for tonight’s party won’t be covering.” A grimace took over Alec’s face and Magnus shook his head, posing a finger of his boyfriend’s lips before the obligatory complaint came. “No, you promised you’d go.”

“When?” Alec asked, taken aback.

“Just now, when I had my tongue deep in your-”

Alec’s face turned bright red and he groaned. “You tricked me into promising that.” But he sighed, eventually coming into resignation. “Alright, I’ll go. But I’m staying with Iz and Jace throughout the entire thing. And no dancing.”

“It’s a deal,” Magnus said with a smirk and leaned down to place a kiss and a bite on Alec’s shoulder. “Now get that glorious ass out of my room and go get ready. Your boring black clothes await.”

With a half victorious grin, Alec rolled out of the bed and dressed up, exiting the room after giving Magnus a peck on the lips. It still surprised Magnus how far Alec had come, so different from that numb shell he’d been as a stormtrooper. Alec was slowly but steadily allowing himself to feel and react, to live instead of just survive.

If he could do it, so could the others. It would take time and effort, but eventually, they would reduce the consequences of the Circle to a history lesson.

But first, they had a celebratory party to attend and Magnus had the perfect outfit planned.

Magnus found the others by the ship that would take them to Alderaan, where the party would be hosted. He was very satisfied by the reaction his shimmering tunic and tight pants got from Alec, as he seemly couldn’t take his hazel eyes from Magnus the entire trip there. Perfect.

They arrived fashionably late, but in time for the awarding ceremony. Both Alec and Magnus received commandments for their bravery in face of the enemy, symbolized by a fancy pin that didn’t entirely ruined Magnus’ look. With that part done, they were able to join their friends by the bar, who were all gathered around Jace as he showed off the improvements on his metal hand.

“The only thing missing,” Jace concluded his clearly long monologue to a blushing Clary, an amused Isabelle and a bored Maia, “is shooting lasers from the fingertips.”

S1-M0N crossed his arms, looking appalled. “You can barely controlled it yet. Can you even do this?” He pushed both hands up and moved them in a jazz hands motion.

“No, but I can do this,” Jace said and flipped him off.

Magnus tutted, stopping besides his former apprentice. “Not very Jedi-like, Master Jedi. Not at all.” 

Ever since he had granted Jace the title, Magnus had been quick to use it to reprimand every little thing the other did wrong using that same excuse. The joke was starting to get old, but it never failed to put a smile on Alec’s lips, so Magnus didn’t care.

Maia smirked and produced drinks for both Magnus and Alec. She raised her own glass. “To Jace,” she said, surprising him and everyone else in the circle, although there was a mischievous spark in her eyes as she continued. “I’ve got to hand it to you. That Master Jedi title fits you like a glove.”

Neither Isabelle nor Simon were able to hold back giggles as Jace deadpanned. But when even Clary had to hide a smile, he sighed in defeat. “Alright, I know you all have been waiting for this, so I’ll take one joke for each of you.”

Before he could change his mind, Isabelle smirked. “Would applauding your new title be considered rude?”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Girls, please. We will need all hands on deck to rebuild the Jedi Order.” He then smirked. “All three of the ones we have now.”

Jace didn’t look particularly impressed as he looked at Alec for support. The pilot to be just shrugged. “I’m trying to think of a joke, but I’m stumped.”

To Jace’s increasingly dread, Clary joined in, scrunching her nose to Alec in a smile. “Oh, I could think of a handful more.”

S1-M0N giggled in delight. “This is hands down the best party ever.”

“That is enough,” Jace declared, crossing his arms against his chest. “Let’s talk about the black holes on Alec’s neck. See if he can come up with a better excuse than last time, because nobody will believe he fell on his neck three times.”

“But why?” a voice came from behind Jace. “Can’t you hand-le it?”

Nothing that happened after that was as glorious as the look on Jace’s face as he realized the one speaking was Luke, as the First Commander stopped by the bar to refill his glass. There were pretty good contestants, though, like S1-M0N’s failed attempt at dancing with Clary or watching Isabelle ditch Meliorn for some handsome boy when she grew tired of the man’s attentions.

As the party grew late, Magnus watched the others joke and tease each other, with not a care in their minds. That was what he wanted for them, a life where the weight of the galaxy didn’t crushed their shoulders. It made him feel at peace for the first time in years.

Still, there was something missing. Something that wouldn’t allow Magnus to be completely happy. Maybe it was a selfish feeling, considering he now had everything he could ever ask for. With Jace’s help, Magnus was rebuilding the Jedi Order, one student at a time. He had Alec, smiling and loving him with everything he did and said. Magnus was safe, and so was everyone he loved.

No, not everyone.

Swallowing the rest of his drink, Magnus sighed. It was a night for celebration, so he pushed those thoughts away. He had more than enough to be thankful about and it did no good to be worrying the others. Alec had certainly picked up on his blue mood, judging by the worried expression on his face. Magnus tried to smile his concern away, but that only made Alec step closer to him.

“Hm,” Alec said, with all his eloquence. “Do you want to dance?”

Magnus arched an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. “I thought you said ‘no dancing’.”

“I reconsidered.” Alec shrugged. “It’s a one-time offer.”

“Then I’ll take it,” Magnus said with a wink and dragged his boyfriend to where the couples were twirling prettily. He knew he would not be trying that with Alec, not if he valued his feet, but Magnus was happy with just swinging to one side and the other with Alec in his arms. “Thank you for this.”

Alec shook his head, face showing off his apprehension as he moved awkwardly. “I don’t know what is bothering you, but if you ever want to talk about it, I am here to listen.”

So sweet. Magnus didn’t mind the smile that took over his lips and he pressed a kiss on Alec’s cheek. “It is nothing, my darling. I guess I just miss my master, Ragnor. I wish he was here to celebrate with us, even if he would undoubtedly ruin the mood.”

Nodding, Alec pushed his lips together. “And you have no idea where he could be at all.”

“Not a clue.” Magnus sighed in irritation. “Maybe Catarina knows something, but if she does, Ragnor told her explicitly not to tell me. That old rag doesn’t want to be found.” He rolled his eyes. “See? He’s not even here and he’s already turning me off.”

Alec arched an eyebrow at him, but a sly smile curled up on his lips. “I’m sure I can turn you on.”

Magnus gasped, all annoyance gone at once. “Alexander! What a scandalous thing for you to say. Please, don’t stop.”

Snorting, Alec smiled proudly. “I have a good teacher.”

“Well,” Magnus purred, hand lowering on Alec’s back just before it would be considered inappropriate. “I’m sure there still a thing or two left to teach you.”

\---

It took him two weeks, in which Alec spent a lot of the time arguing and trying to get his plan cleared, but eventually Luke agreed to it. The First Commander sighed, staring at Alec with a mixture of pride and reservation before saying yes.

Alec smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet,” Luke said, a hint of a sad smile on his lips. “Convincing me will look like child’s play when you try talking him into this plan. Half of the reason I’ve cleared the plan is because I’m pretty sure Magnus will say no.”

It would be a lie if Alec said that wasn’t discouraging. He pushed his lips together in thought. “And the other half?”

Luke’s smile grew hopeful. “The other half is because I hope he’ll say yes.” He sighed and turned back to the plans of the base, which he was overseeing to find the best place to build new dormitories. “You’re dismissed, soldier. Best of luck.”

Nodding, Alec exited the room and found his way to the section where Magnus and Jace had been training the Jedi younglings. There were about five kids training with Madzie, whom had been found in a mission or another. Jace was having a blast teaching them, considering they cheered him up in everything he did.

Magnus, on the other hand, was on the verge of panicking. In Alec’s opinion, he was doing a great job as an instructor, but the Jedi kept doubting himself. It was the very first time Alec had ever seen anything shake his boyfriend and it was worrying him. Especially because both Magnus and him knew Magnus’ insecurities did not come from any lack of knowledge on how to train Jedis.

“Hey,” Alec said as he walked into the room and sat besides Magnus. It was Jace’s turn to teach the children gymnastics, his favorite class to administer. Magnus stared at them rolling around the floor with a puzzled expression.

He didn’t even look at Alec, but his hand reached for his boyfriend’s and Alec caught it. “Hey, darling.”

Alec smiled. “How is the class going?”

“Good, good.” Magnus bit his lower lip, his cat-eyes flashing as he accompanied Madzie’s attempt on the exercises. “They get it quite fast. Jace is better with this than I expected.”

There was an edge to his voice that Alec would usually pretend not to hear. Not this time. “But…?”

Magnus looked at him and sighed, letting go of Alec’s hand to play with his rings. “But I don’t know if this is enough. They are children, small children. I knew how to train Jace, because he was older, almost a teenager. But them? What if I’m doing something wrong? If I am, there’s nobody to point me into the right direction. I’m a Master Jedi because there were no others, not because I was appointed by the council.”

Humming thoughtfully, Alec cocked his head to the side. “So, would you feel surer if there was a Master Jedi here? One that was appointed by the council?”

“Yes, of course.” Magnus shrugged. “Just because I’m exceptional doesn’t mean I know everything. One of those old rags here would probably have a clearer idea on how to train younglings. Especially because my ideas are from what I remember doing when I was a Jedi youngling.”

Alec bit down a smile. “So we have to get one.”

“Oh, Alexander, that would be lovely, yes. But there are no more Jedis besides Jace and I.”

“Yes, there is,” Alec said carefully, eyeing his boyfriend.

It took three seconds for Magnus to fully understand what Alec was implying by it. His posture, before relaxed in an elegant curve, grew tense. “Ragnor is gone.”

There was ice in Magnus’ voice, cold enough to burn. But Alec was not afraid to burn if it meant helping the man he loved. “He’s gone somewhere. One doesn’t disappear in the galaxy.” He paused, looking for the right words, though it had never been his strength. “I talked to Luke. He’s authorized a mission to search for your master.” Alec paused, suddenly feeling like he had overstepped. “I-If you want to.”

Magnus looked straight forward, not a trace of emotion in his entire body. “Get out.”

The words felt like a blow, the hardest thing to ever hit Alec. He inhaled sharply. “I’ll be in the shooting range. Please, consider it.” Alec swallowed hard and buried down the feeling that he had just destroyed his entire happiness with one strike before standing up and leaving.

It was night when Magnus showed up at the shooting range and Alec had to bite the interior of his mouth not to say anything as the Jedi approached. They were the only ones in there and Alec finished emptying his blaster on the center of the moving targets before turning to his boyfriend.

“You had no right,” Magnus said, arms crossed against his chest. If there was anger in him, it was impossible to know.

Alec nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… To pry.”

Magnus narrowed his eyes at him, but sighed. “I know. I’m sorry I lashed out on you. That was unbecoming.” He raised a hand in a flourish, stopping Alec from talking. “And it was nice, that you went through all the trouble to clear a mission to search for my master. It’s useless, but very nice. I appreciate the gesture.”

“But it’s not useless,” Alec said, trying to maintain his cool. “I know you’ve been searching for him all this time and I know Ragnor left no way of finding him. But you’ve said yourself, Catarina might know something. It’s a start.”

Whatever softness there was on Magnus’ face, it hardened in a heartbeat. “I’ve asked her, Alexander. I’ve begged her to tell me. She didn’t. There is no reason for her to change her mind now. She won’t open her mouth just because there’s another pretty face pleading.”

Alec shook his head. “There is, though. Ragnor left you to fight against the Circle. The Circle is gone. You’ve done whatever he wanted you to do. Besides, you’re rebuilding the Jedi Order. He must have had a big reason to go, but now there is an even bigger reason to come back.”

A moment of silence, in which Alec wondered if he hadn’t yet again screwed up, but then Magnus sighed. “Say Catarina agrees to tell me whatever she knows now, and that is if she knows anything. We are on the breaking point, where we need everyone to channel their efforts into rebuilding what the Circle destroyed. I can’t just leave to search for my master.”

“You’ve told me you’ve done what you could to find any clues,” Alec said, the argument coming to him smoothly after making it so many times, “but that was while your main goal was to serve the Resistance. You’re done, the Resistance’s won. Look, I… I was told I could do whatever I wanted once this war was gone. The same goes for you. Jace can take care of the younglings while we’re gone.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him. “While we’re gone?”

Alec nodded. “I proved to Luke I can pilot and he gave me a license. I’m not as good as Izzy, but you’ll need a pilot. I can be it.”

“You do know there is landing involved in piloting, right?” Magnus asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Very funny.” Alec rolled his eyes, but a sting of hope rose in his chest. If Magnus was making jokes, it meant he wasn’t angry anymore. Biting his lower lip, Alec looked at him. “What do you say?”

Magnus closed his eyes, bringing a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. He then took a few steps towards Alec and buried his face on Alec’s shoulder. “What did I do to deserve someone as stubborn and sweet as you?”

“You’ve kidnapped me,” Alec answered and hugged him. “How about you sleep on it? We’ll talk of this in the morning.”

Nodding, Magnus took a step back. “Alright. You finish your practice. I’m taking a long and deserved shower.” 

They parted and Alec did so, trying to expel all anxiety as he pulled the trigger. When he was done, Alec passed through the kitchen lounges and got Magnus and him some dinner, as he was sure his boyfriend had forgotten to eat. 

He was right and Magnus thanked him for the food with various kisses. Alec had taken the last dose of the antidote the night before, which usually made him extremely tired for a couple of days, so the two of them just climbed up to bed and slept.

In the morning, Alec was awakened by the sound of zippers being opened. He opened his eyes to find Magnus passing from one side of the room to the others, carrying all types of clothes and throwing them in three bags on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Alec asked through a yawn and sat up.

Magnus looked at him and smirked. “My bags, of course. It proves to be extremely difficult when I have no idea where I’m going, so I’ve decided to pack a bit of everything. One has to be prepared to look fabulous in every occasion.”

Grogginess slowed down Alec’s mind, but when Magnus’ words made sense in his mind, a thrill of alertness ran through his body. “So we’re going?”

“Oh, yes,” Magnus said and leaned on the bed to give Alec a good morning kiss. “Prepare your bags, my love. We have a new mission to complete.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Once again my hugest thank you to [Lecrit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit). Love you so much <3
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://sweetillusionketz.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/Ketz_CML/). Kudos, comments and tweets are more than welcomed and deeply appreciated! Tracking #asfj on Twitter.
> 
> Ketz


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